Legends
by NellyBear85
Summary: Bella Swan was changing and she didn't know it. She was stronger, faster and more agile. She enjoyed her change and her new life. But now, can she get her old life back?
1. Changes

Chapter 1 – Changes

The change was slow, slow but permanent. I didn't even know what was happening to me until it happened. My graduation was coming up. I made no motions for the college route, because I didn't want to leave Forks. Charlie knew the real reasons why I didn't want to leave Forks, even when I didn't admit it to myself. If I left Forks, it would really be like he never existed. Like none of them did and that was intolerable. I couldn't let them go. To calm Charlie, I told him I would consider classes at Peninsula Community College. Looking over the information, I was vaguely interested in the Literature program.

I still spent as much time as I could with Jacob. He had more free time, now that Victoria was dead. The pack was able to cut off her escape with its new members and she was torn apart. Jacob didn't stick around to watch them burn her body. He ran to my house, in the middle of the night to let me know what happened. I was awakened to a knocking outside of my window. He was in Charlie's tree, waiting for me to answer. He leapt into the room and pulled me in for a tight hug. "Jacob," my voice was still heavy with sleep, "what's going on?" He put me done, "It's over, Bella! She's dead. We got her." I blinked several times. "What do you mean?" "Bella, I'm talking about the bloodsucker that was after you. We got her."

Jacob's words finally set it. I blinked, "Victoria…. she's gone?" Jacob held my shoulders, "Bells, you're safe again." I couldn't make myself smile. The shock and surprise that it was over hadn't set it. Jacob was safe, Charlie was safe. My friends, family and home were safe again. I was no longer dangerous to be around. I worried about being around people. Afraid of who would be with me when Victoria finally caught up with me? Charlie, Mike, Angela, Emily or Jacob? I didn't want any of them near me when she found me. But she was gone now. I swayed on my feet, but Jacob caught me. Jacob sat me on the bed, "Bella, honey? Are you all right?" My vision was blurring as the tears formed. "She's gone." Relief was starting to build in my voice. Jacob sat on the bed and hugged me, "Yes, she is. She's not coming after you anymore." Jacob held me with his arms tight around my body. I knew this was dangerous to do, but it felt nice. Once again, I felt safe. I was with Jacob and Victoria was gone.

Graduation was almost near and I was going to attend Peninsula Community College. Charlie was happy I was trying to do something with my life. "Bells, I just think you could do so much more than community college." I looked down and smiled, "It's a start, Dad. Let's see what happens when I'm done there." He stood up from the table and put his plate in the sink, "Bella, if this is about…." My smile disappeared as I looked up and he stopped mid-sentence. "I would think you'd want me to stay close. I've only been here for a little more than a year. Did you ever consider that this is my home and I want to stay a little longer?" His lips formed a hard line, "Is that it? Really?" I shook my head, "Isn't that enough? I want to stay in Forks. But if you want me to leave that badly, then I'll call Mom." His face went red. "No!" he said abruptly, "You're right. I do want you to stay. I'm sorry for questioning your motives." Chagrin colored Charlie's face. He went to put on his jacket, "Bye Bells."

I listened to Charlie's cruiser drive away. I was worried about being alone again. The good thing about Victoria hunting me, it kept my mind occupied on her, instead of what it was focused on before. I went up to my room and packed my schoolbag. School was becoming very boring. The days ran by in a tedious state. I was pulling a low A average. Maybe Charlie was right. I could be doing more than a local college. The more I thought about it, the more I was torn with the idea of going to community college. I knew why I wanted to stay, but the call of the world outside of Forks was becoming stronger. Forks was my home, but it was starting to look too small. A small town almost at the edge of the world. A tiny speck on the map. My brow furrowed. Why was I thinking this way? I drove to school, pushing my truck as fast as it could go. I was making this a habit lately. I knew she wasn't after me anymore, but I felt better trying to go as fast as I could to get to where I was going. Driving at faster speed was becoming comfortable for me. It didn't make me as nervous as it did before.

In the school parking lot, I was one of the first students there. I sat in my truck's cab and looked out at the misting rain. Thinking back over the last few weeks, I realized it was just past a year when James attacked me. My life was so different then. I was being protected by a large family. A family I wanted to be a part of forever, but was painfully cut out of. This thought was still painful, but it was not as potent as it was before. I was cut out of that family, but I was not cut out of the world of the supernatural. A few months later, I found out Jacob was a werewolf. For a few weeks, he could not be near me, but soon it became a necessity for us to be close. Jacob and I have gotten closer, but I couldn't let him get closer to me. I was not whole. Jacob deserved to be with someone who could genuinely care about him. Jacob said he didn't care. He said he would never hurt me and he hasn't. In a way, I loved Jacob, but I wasn't good for him. I wasn't meant for him.

The parking lot began to fill up with other students and I saw Angela. "Hey Ang." She turned, "Hey Bella." She was standing with Lauren and Jessica. Jessica's smile faltered and Lauren rolled her eyes. I tried not to notice, "How do you think you did on your History test?" I shrugged, "Pretty good. What about you?" She made a face, "I don't know." I smiled, "You always do well." Lauren smirked, "So, Bella, have you picked your class from Peninsula yet?" I looked at her, "Not yet. I'm leaning towards a Literature major." She snorted, "She always was a bookworm." My eyes narrowed, "Maybe being a bookworm is the reason I'm graduating in the top 5 of our class." Lauren's eyes widened and Jessica looked at me, "Bella, she didn't say anything." I shook my head, "Are you kidding me? I just heard her, clear as a bell." Lauren snapped her mouth shut and walked away. Jessica looked after her, "Seriously, Bella. Lauren didn't say anything." I looked at Angela and she nodded in agreement. I raised an eyebrow. I know what I heard. "Let's just get to class," I suggested.

While Mr. Berty prattled on about Mr. Darcy from Wuthering Heights, my mind wandered. This was my favorite book and I could quote it well, so I didn't need to pay attention. It was strange that neither Angela nor Jessica heard Lauren this morning. Jessica was standing closer to her than I was. Maybe she was taking up for her wretched friend. Wretched was right. Lauren was a wretched person. From the day I came to Forks, she did not like me. A good thing about high school ending is that I will be here and she would be on the other side of the country. I wouldn't have to see her on a daily basis. I don't mind staying here for college, but I began to think about other schools. Bigger schools in other states. Jacob would move on and find the one who was worthy of him and he would forget me.

What was I thinking? I had to stay here. I just told Charlie this was my home and I wanted to stay. I had to stay to keep his memory strong and alive. I found myself torn between both ideas. I wanted to leave Forks. Partly to escape the memories that was holding me here. But I wanted to stay to keep those same memories alive. They were from the happiest point in my life. Maybe Charlie was right. He wasn't coming back. None of them were. I should escape. The class ended and I went onto gym. Thinking about it, I realized, as of lately, I didn't dread gym. It was actually starting to bore me. We were playing volleyball. I stood in the back, watching the ball bounce back and forth across the net. On the rare occasions it came my way, I was a bit surprised at how I was able to hit the ball so hard and accurately. "Wow, Bella," Mike complemented, "that was amazing." I had spiked the ball over the net, winning for our team. I smiled, "Thanks." I was pleased with myself. "At least I could leave the school with better physical skills." He half-smiled, "Yeah. I mean you don't trip as much as you used to." I looked up at him, "Huh? You're right. I don't." After school, I thought about that. It was true. I haven't tripped over my own feet in a while. Maybe I was getting more agile. Being around supernatural beings was rubbing off on me. I was happy for that. I was tired of being scared of walking across large rooms full of people. Worried about tripping and embarrassing myself. I noticed, as of lately, some things about me were changing. Maybe I was growing up. Looking at myself in the mirror, there was something different in my eyes. Something that wasn't there before. I was becoming more confident. I look at myself and see how bright my eyes are, how the color of under my skin was alluring. My skin seemed a bit paler, but when I blushed, there was more color. When I looked at my reflection, I was starting to consider myself beautiful. I was definitely changing and I liked it.


	2. Unbelieveable

Chapter 2 – Unbelievable

"Emily, look at this." Emily and I were in Seattle for the day, with Jacob and Sam. It was rare to get them away from La Push. There were no more vampires and they needed to get away. The pack had grown and like before, I had to figure out who they were. Jacob couldn't tell me, because he didn't imprint on me. Jacob explained the imprinting impulse and that those who are imprinted on can know all the secrets of the Quileute wolves. Quil Ateara and Seth Clearwater joined the pack. Seth was the youngest member and he was happy to be able to help kill Victoria. "Since when do you like heels?" I smirked, "Since now." She smiled, "I'm serious. You said you were afraid to wear them." I sighed, "No time like the present to face your fears." I pulled Emily into the store and asked for the shoes I saw on display in the widow. They were red heel shoes with straps that went around my ankles. I tried them on and walked to the mirror. "What do you think?" Emily smiled, "I like them. They look great." I turned back and saw what the heels did for my legs. My legs were more curved and defined as I stood in them. They made my legs look longer. I stood in the mirror, admiring my own reflection.

I found myself thinking about what clothes would look best with my new shoes. I saw I was wearing a button down shirt and faded jeans. I raised an eyebrow. Maybe I was growing up. I wanted to change my wardrobe. I deserved it. After all, I was going to college. Time to put away childish things. "Bella." I looked in the mirror, "Yea, Jacob?" He was looking at me, "You're going to get those?" and he pointed at the shoes. "What, you don't like them?" He smiled, "Actually I do." I smiled, "I know where your eyes were." He smiled, "Come on." I bought the shoes and I saw a pair of boots on the shelf behind the cashier. "Can I see those?" They were brown knee high boots, with wooden colored heels. "I'll take them." I was using the money from my college fund. I earned a scholarship to school, so I could afford to get myself some new things. While shopping, I picked out some new jeans and tops. They were more form fitting than anything I owned before. "Bella, I've never seen you in clothes like that." Jacob had his arm over my shoulders as we walked to the car. "Just growing up, I guess." He nodded, "Yea. You're about to be a college girl, I guess it's time." I smiled, "What about you? Are you going to finish school?" Jacob stuffed his hand into pocket, "Well, we do have more time on our hands. Maybe Sam would allow us time to finish school." I looked ahead, "Good."

Jacob drove his Rabbit home and I looked out the window. I could hear Emily's deep breaths as she slept on Sam's chest in the backseat. Another change I noticed. My hearing was getting better. That would explain why I heard Lauren, when Angela and Jessica didn't. Jacob held my hand and his touch warmed my skin. Before, when Jacob held my hand for a long time, my skin would burn. My hand was in his for over an hour and my palm wasn't even sweating. I must be getting used to his touch. Soon, we were back in La Push and we spent the evening at Emily's house. Emily and I were in the kitchen, cutting up a cake. I lifted my head, "Someone's outside." Emily looked at me, "I didn't hear anything." I looked out the back window from where I stood, "I think its Jared and Paul." Emily looked at me and then the back door opened. I was right. Jared and Paul came inside, "Hey guys." Emily looked at me, "You're good." I shrugged.

Our evening was fun, as we all sat and laughed, but it was getting pretty late, "I'd better go. Charlie and I have to go out tomorrow." Jacob looked up at me, "You could spend the night." I made a face, "I think that invitation will have to come from Emily." Jacob rolled his eyes, "I'll take you home." I knew I couldn't convince him to stay, so I didn't argue and let him drive me home. Jacob kept his arm over my shoulders the entire drive. "What are you and Charlie doing tomorrow?" "He and I are going to Port Angeles. I need to register for classes and he's picking up his new truck." Jacob tightened his arm around my shoulder, "When will you be back?" I looked up and smiled, "In the afternoon." Jacob drove my truck and it was wheezing as it was beginning pushed to its speed limit. He parked in front of my house and we stayed in the truck for a little while longer.

This was dangerous. I knew what Jacob wanted, but I wasn't ready to give in. If I did, I would end up staying in Forks. That wasn't entirely what I wanted anymore. I'm supposed to let go, but terrified to forget. I looked back at the house, to the light in the living room window. "Jake?" His hot hand held my cheek, making me look at him. We stared at each other. My eyes adjusted very quickly in the dark. I could make out his face much easier than before. I could even make out his dark eyes, staring into mine. He sighed, "I know. I'd better go." He opened the car door and stood out in the cold. My hand grabbed his arm, "Wait." He looked back at me. I got out of the cab and held his shoulders, "Good night, Jake" and kissed his cheek. Even in the dark, I could see the blush under his russet skin, "Good night, Bells."

I finished my registration and took a short tour around campus. The Literature department was part of the tour and meeting a few of the professors. I was definitely considering a Literature major. The library in that department was extensive. And the library on campus was great. I could get lost in there easily, taking in all the books they had. Leaving campus, I went to meet Charlie. He was standing in front of a Ford pickup truck. It was used, but it looked like it was in good shape. Charlie turned as my truck approached. "Hey Bells, what do you think?" I got out of the cab, "It looks good." I stepped closer to him, "I think you should let Jacob take a look at the engine. He kept my truck in good shape." He smiled, "Good idea." I followed Charlie back to Forks. I was heading home, while he went to run some errands. I think he wanted to test out his new truck. While heading to Forks, Charlie headed further south away from town. I didn't drive in that direction anymore. Heading south out of Forks, it would have taken me to there house, hidden from the world in a sea of ferns. I turned off and headed back for town.

My truck idled at one of the few traffic lights in town. As I got closer to home, a strange feeling came over me. Charlie was in trouble. I couldn't explain it. All I knew was that I had to find Charlie and fast. I made a wide U-turn and drove down to the road I never went down. My truck's engine groaned in protest as I pushed it to its limits. I was very close to their house, but I couldn't think about that right now. I had to find Charlie. I drove a little further, near the opening for their driveway and that's where I saw Charlie's truck. His truck was on the side of the road. Turning off my engine, I got out and walked over to the abandoned vehicle. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but Charlie was nowhere in sight. The feeling of him being in danger hadn't fade. I was standing at the mouth of their driveway and, to my own surprise; began to walk down it. My eyes scanned the trees around me, almost searching for something. Walking down the driveway, images of my dream crept up into my mind. Walking down a road, while searching for something. No, not something; someone. Someone I couldn't find. Right now, Charlie was that someone I couldn't find. Charlie was a rational person, like me. He wouldn't just walk away from his truck. The hole in my chest was starting to ache.

I couldn't go any further. My eyes shut, blocking out the images from my dreams. My arms wrapped around my body and I took a deep breath. My eyes opened. I smelled something. There was something here. In my mind, two instincts came to me. The first was telling me to run. I had to protect myself as best as I could. The other told me to keep going. I had to find Charlie. My arms stayed wrapped around my body as I moved forward. Heading further down the drive, I came across a piece of clothing. It was from Charlie's jacket. I kept going forward. I knew I was getting closer to the house. The grass was getting taller and the space between the trees was getting wider. Soon, I saw the break in the trees that ended the driveway. That's when I heard a scream, which was quickly cut off. I ran ahead and I found him.

I saw Charlie's body being held by a man. The stranger's head was leaned over Charlie's neck. Charlie's eyes were wide as looked in my direction. His mouth moved as if he tried to speak, but he gritted his teeth. I was in disbelief as I watched my father being killed. My body began to tremble. My teeth began to chatter, but I clasped my hand over my mouth. The stranger lifted his head. I was about 15 feet away from them, but I could smell the blood. The stranger looked back at me and I couldn't move. Actually, I wouldn't move. My instinct was telling me to run, but I didn't. I stepped forward towards him. He stood, letting Charlie's body drop. Charlie groaned from the impact to the ground and continued to groan. The venom was burning his body. The stranger's eyes were crimson. I could see the color going down to his pupil. He smiled, "A snack." My brow furrowed and my lips hardened into a tight line. That was how the trio in the baseball field saw me. Not as a person. He closed the distance between us in an instant and he was standing front of me. "You smell delicious." Anger filled my body and changed everything. His hand clamped down on my throat. It was uncomfortable, but durable. He moved closer to me and I wasn't afraid. I was angry.

My hand flew up to his throat and I tightened my grip. His eyes widened and he buckled to his knees. He looked up at me in shock. My eyes were angry as I gazed down at him. "That was my father!" With every word, my hand tightened on his throat. I could see the cracks in his skin from my hold. He gripped at my hand, digging his nails into my skin. Again, this is uncomfortable, but it was tolerable. "What are you?" he choked out, trying to get out my hold. I moved quickly, as I gripped his other arm and twisted it behind his back. He screamed out in pain and I smiled. "I am…. thirsty." I could smell a scent reminiscent of leather from his breath and it was sweet. Leaning closer to him, the scent of leather lingered on him. I leaned down, pulling my lips back and sunk my teeth into his neck. I was able to bit down on his skin. It felt like biting into an apple. There was a slight crunch to his skin. Sucking back, something warm touched my tongue. My eyes widened and then closed as I suck at the warm substance. It flowed down my throat. I pulled and pulled at the sweet relief from this vampire. Soon, there was nothing. My eyes opened and I looked across the field. I could smell something sweeter and even more irresistible. I dropped the body in my arms and walked forward. I heard the groaned, but that didn't sway me. The scent was mouth-watering. Something held my shoulder and pulled me backwards. The stranger stared at me and his eyes were black. He was holding his neck. "You …. drank from me?" I looked at him. "What are you?" I smiled, "Angry." In a swift movement, I grabbed his hand and his entire arm detached from his body. He screamed again and fell to the ground.

I threw his arm to the ground and finished the job. Moving my arm quickly, I punched him in the chest. It was so strong, that my arm traveled through his body. Then, I held his head in my hands and pulled upward, detaching it. I knew what I had to do next. But I didn't have any matches and I had to check on Charlie. With my hands, I continued to dismember the body. I tore each finger from both hands. I tore the body into unrecognizable pieces. When I was done, I dug a hole with my bare hands and buried the remains. I would come back to burn them later. I stood and looked at my hands. What was I?


	3. Unforgiveable

Chapter 3 – Unforgiveable

I stood still for a few more moments, thinking about what I had just done. Charlie. He was waiting for me. I dashed over to him, but I was too late. His heartbeat was weak, but his eyes were whirling in his head. The color had left his cheeks. My lips trembled, "Charlie, no." A sob came through my lips and I waited for the tears. My eye stung, as my breath hitched. Charlie still could be saved. As long as his heart was still beating, it was possible. I just had to get the venom out, but I didn't have much time. I fell to my knees next to Charlie, "The burning!" My eyes stung more as he agonized in pain. I picked up my hand from underneath his head and saw the blood. It was the sweet smell I picked up across the meadow. My lips still trembled as I raised my stained hand to my face and inhaled at the scent. It was irresistible. The scent had the reminiscent scent of leather. A new instinct came over, one I've never felt before. I saw the blood flowing out from his wound and it was still warm. The scent of the venom hardly tainted the scent of the blood. I couldn't stop myself. I was more primal as I lower my lips to his neck and drank the blood. My eyes slowly closed as my thirst was satisfied. I felt the warm substance creeping into every inch of my body.

The blood was changing me, making me stronger. I opened my eyes and everything was different. I looked up to the sky and I could make out the miniscule breaks in the clouds. From 15 feet away, I could see every grain of bark on the trees. I could see the fluttering of a bee's wings hovering in a bloomed flower. Before my mind could complete the thought, I stood up. Inhaling deeply, the air swirled in my body, not bringing me any relief. Instead, the air brought with it new flavors. I could taste the scent of the grass on my tongue. Inhaling again, I could smell leather again. I looked down. My eyes widened to the body of my father. No, no, what have I done? I killed him! He could have been saved. I wanted to save him. But, I had to quench my thirst. In doing that, it cost Charlie his life. I backed away from his body. I was panicked and mortified. I looked around myself, what had I become? This wasn't possible. I wasn't bitten. I knew what I was, but it was impossible. There were no vampires around, except for the one I just killed. I was bitten by one, but that was a year ago. Could the change take that long? No, he got all the venom out of my body and I was human. All this time, I was human. How could I be a vampire now?

No, I couldn't be. I had to test that theory. I looked at the large white house and remembered. Memories I had buried away for the sake of my own sanity. I remembered the meadow, where he showed me how fast and strong he really was. Was I that fast? Again, before completing the thought, I ran around the house before I could blink. I was fast, very fast. I ran to the back of the house again and saw the river. The water glittered so much; it looked like there were stars just beneath the surface. I looked back at the glass wall and saw my reflection. I walked closer to it, not believing that I was looking at. Even from the riverbank, I didn't need to step closer to the glass to have a better look. I walked forward in shock. What drew me closer to the reflection in the glass were my eyes. The eyes looking back at me weren't brown, they were blue. A pale blue that made them stand out. I squeezed my eyes closed. My eyes are brown. They are brown, I repeated in my head ten times. I looked back at the glass and my eyes were normal again. That was one relief. I could hear something coming up fast. It was on the road. I had to go. I ran back to my truck. My senses went wild as I ran through the tall grass and large trees. Soon, I was climbing into the cab. I couldn't bring myself to start the engine. I had to escape, but it was too late. The police cruiser stopped; it was Deputy Steve. "Hey Bella." I faked a smiled, "Hey." "What are you doing here?" I gestured to his truck with my chin, "That's Charlie's new truck. It's not like him to just walk away from his car."

Deputy Steve looked to the truck, "You're right." He got out of his car and walked over to the vehicle. I put my hand over my chest, trying to control my breathing. I looked up through my windshield. My heart wasn't beating. I checked my own pulse and it wasn't there. Deputy Steve was inspecting the truck. He was on his walkie talkie, "The chief is missing. Bella is here and she was looking for him." The speaker squawked, "Where are you?" "South on the 101. Near the Cullens' old house." I looked out the window. It was funny that a stray vampire would be drawn to their house. I could smell it in the meadow. There was a distinct scent. It was faded, but it was there. It was different from the scent I was getting from Charlie. Deputy Steve walked over to my truck, "Bella, you'd better head home. I'll call when we have an update." He was close and I could see the blood pumping underneath his skin. His scent was like fresh cut grass. I held my breath. Edward told me breathing wasn't necessary. They did it for comfort and normality. Moving as humanely as possible, I turned my truck around and headed to town. My truck protested as I pushed it to my house.

Once in the house, I sprinted to my room. Reaching my room, I wasn't out of breath and my heart wasn't racing. My heart wasn't beating at all. I thought back to my reflection over the past few weeks. I was paler, but there was more color to my cheeks. The slow speed of my ancient truck was beginning to bore me. My hearing was stronger. I was becoming bored with the clothes I wore. My temper was getting worse. It was beginning to make sense. I was slowly changing. Taking off my clothes, I went into the body length mirror in the bathroom. Standing there, I saw myself. My hair was longer. The curves in my body were more defined. I looked at my eyes. They were blue before, but I closed them and they were brown again. I was not expecting this. Edward told me little about being a newborn vampire. The first, and most important thing, they lacked was control. I was able to speak to Deputy Steve. Even when I was speaking to him, I was breathing. He smelled like fresh cut grass. Sweet, but not enough to make me want to consume his blood. His blood? I closed my eyes and fell to my knees. I have Charlie's blood in me. His blood is fueling my body.

Charlie. Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. How could I do that? The forefront of my mind was focused on Charlie, but in another part, I thought about the differences in my bits. When I bit into the vampire, it was like bitten into something hard. It didn't feel as natural as it did from when I bit into Charlie. Biting Charlie, my teeth sank so easily. Like knives, cutting into butter. More easily than the vampire. My teeth were so strong, they broke through vampire skin. I pressed my fingers to my teeth and they felt sharp. Passing my finger along the bottom row of my teeth, each one felt sharp against it. I pulled my lips back, to see more of my teeth and there were milk white, despite what I had done with them. The taste of the blood from each victim was different too. From Charlie, the blood was fresher. Maybe the vampire's body was already using it for his own body, when I took it from him. I was surprised how strong I was. I was strong enough to break his skin with my finger. Edward told me it took a great impact to break a vampire's skin. But I was able to do it with my hand.

I have known vampires, but I would never think of them as monsters. I was. I let my father die, so that I could survive. No, not survive. So that I could…. eat. With my eyes closed, my other senses were sharper. I could hear my neighbors speaking in their houses. I could pick out the sounds of individual heartbeats. Hearts that were pumping lush, warm blood through their bodies. From behind my house, I could hear another heart. A larger heart and it was beating quickly. I could hear large patted feet moving quickly against the brush on the ground. Along with the heart and moving feet, I could hear quick breaths. I stood up. It was a wolf. It was a wolf and I was a vampire. It would rip me apart. I must have left a scent there. They would pick it up when they came to the house. Dashing into my room, I quickly disposed of the clothes I wore when I killed Charlie. Throwing them in the hamper, I dressed in jeans and a shirt. The wolf was getting closer. I knew I didn't need shoes, but that would make me too conspicuous.

The wolf was in the backyard. I heard him change back to human form. There was a cracking and resetting of bones and their heart slowing. He was on my back porch and opening the door. I opened my window, when I heard him, "Bella!" It was Jacob. He would pick up my scent. I faced my window, ready to leap out of it when my door opened, "Bella!" I looked back with shock, "Jacob!" "Bella, what's wrong?" I froze, but my nose wrinkled. A bad scent hit me and it was coming from Jacob. He smelled like a wet dog. Jacob looked at me, "Bella, I have to tell you something." Jacob stepped towards me, but I back away. "Bella, calm down. I have something really important to tell you." Jacob held my wrist and I jumped. I was waiting for him to pick up on my scent, but he was fine. "Bella, you'd better sit down." Jacob took my hand, sat on the bed and pulled me into his lap. Jacob's arms held me close to him, "Bella, its Charlie." Jacob didn't realize what I was. Maybe he doesn't realize right away.

Jacob sighed, "Bella, its Charlie." I mumbled, "Did they find him?" Jacob hugged me closer, "There was a vampire in the area. Out by the …. their house." I looked at him, "Yes…?" "Bella, I'm so sorry. We couldn't get there in time." My eyes blinked widely, "You mean… Charlie's…..?" I covered my mouth and gasped. I knew what happened, but I couldn't let Jacob know that. Thinking about what I did to Charlie, my hands trembled. I hid my face from Jacob. Jacob did not need to see me like this. My breath hitched in my throat. My voice was blocked. I got up, out of Jacob's lap and stood by my desk. I knew I couldn't cry. A sob was building, but I wasn't going to let it out. I knew Charlie was gone, but I still could not believe what I had done to him. "Bell?" Jacob tried to turn me around, but I jerked away. I couldn't let him see me like this. He wrapped his huge arms around me and held me to his chest. This hug was awkward, because I didn't unwrap my arms from my own body. Jacob pressed his lips to the top of my head and it startled me. "What is it?" I just shook my head. Maybe Jacob wasn't there, in the meadow where I left Charlie. So, he didn't know I was there. Luck was with me that my scent hadn't changed for him to notice… yet.


	4. Discoveries

Chapter 4 – Discoveries

It has been six months since Charlie's funeral. I graduated from high school, went to college and discovered more things about myself. Something that was very interested was I could go a whole month without hunting. With Edward, I knew at the most, he could go two weeks. When I wasn't constantly physically active, I could go a month without needing more blood. On the times I fed, my eyes turned the same pale blue. One night, I ran home and I saw they were blue again. I did the same thing as the first time. I closed my eyes and focused on my brown eyes. I opened them and my eyes were brown again. I had that much control over them. I could let them stay blue, but I wanted to remain inconspicuous. Also, I found that I had my own blood. My heart didn't beat, but I still had my own blood. That was perplexing, but interesting. Another thing was I could still eat food. Food was no longer a necessity, but my body could still use it for sustenance. So, I wasn't out of place when I sat in the cafeteria; I could eat, while I'm reading. I found, when I held their eyes; I could convince people to do what I want. I could tell them to forget something and they wouldn't remember. Researching the internet, I found out that was called "compelling." The first time I did it, I was talking to Lauren. While at school, I was walking with Tyler to our chemistry class, when I heard Lauren whispering, "I guess she's going to try to get him now, too." I closed my eyes and walked over to her, "Lauren, I would like to talk to you."

She stepped away from her friends and I followed. "What do you want, Bella?" I looked at her, "Ok, I am really sorry that you don't like me. But I would appreciate if you would stop talking about me." She rolled her eyes, "I am not talking about you." My anger was growing, "I heard you, Lauren. I hear you every time." She snorted, "Please. Maybe you're hearing things. If you'll excuse me." I stepped closer and looked into her eyes, "Look, Lauren, you need to stop talking about me." Her shoulder slumped as I spoke to her. "Could you attempt to be a nicer person from now on? Then you'll see more people will like you." It surprised me that she stayed quiet while I spoke. She wasn't blinking either. "Lauren?" She half-blinked, "Yes. I'm sorry, Bella, I have to get going to class. See you later." She smiled brightly and went off to class. For the rest of the school year, she was a different person. I never heard speak negatively about anyone, she wasn't sarcastic and much friendlier. I tested my theory on Mike. I asked to stop asking me out. It worked, Mike stopped asking me to go to movies or dinner with him. Another thing I discovered was my skin's reaction to sunlight. When I saw it was sunny, I knew I couldn't go anywhere. I watched the dust motes dance in the sunlight, as it streamed on my bedroom floor. The house was mine now, but I stayed in my room. I didn't have the heart to even enter Charlie's room.

Looking at the sunlight on the floor, I remembered how Edward's skin glowed in the meadow. How it made him so much more beautiful. I stood by the edge of the light, my toe just barely in it. Slowly, I moved my hand into the sunlight. On Edward, the diamonds were instantly apparent on his skin, but for me, there was a light luminous glow. I stepped completely into the light and my skin glowed. I took up the small mirror I had on my desk and my face was lit up in the sunlight. My eyes were brighter and my cheeks had more color. I knew I was a vampire and I knew the truths about them, but I had to check. I went outside to the backyard and stood in the direct sunlight. There was no pain. I wasn't burning, I was just glowing. I looked around myself, taking in the blades of grass as they moved in the wind. The blades looked greener. I could see the small beads of dew on them. I stared so long; that I saw the vapors billow into the air as the sunlight evaporated the dew.

Something else was confirmed. The werewolves could never tell I was a vampire. To them, I was just Bella. A human that knew about their world. They had no idea I had joined it, as their natural enemy. At first, I was timid to go to La Push, but as time went by and the more time I spent with them, I saw the wolves didn't know I was changed. Those few facts shocked me. I was a vampire and yet, my skin wasn't covered with diamond facets in the sunlight, I had my own blood, when I fed, my eyes turned blue and at will, I could change them back to brown and the werewolves were not aware of what I was. I fed on the blood of animals and my eyes stayed brown. I wanted them to be gold, but they did not change to the honey color I wanted.

After Charlie was found by the police, my mom and Phil came to Forks and arranged the funeral. I didn't have the heart to do. After all, I took his life. The house was filled with well-wishers, none of which I could face. While the house was full, I stayed in my room. I listened to everything from my room. People were asking where I was and others answered that I was in my room. They believed it was too much for me to stay among people. Actually, I stayed away in my room was because I didn't trust myself. What I knew about new vampires is that they were volatile and just craved blood. A house full of humans would have been bad for me. Jacob knocked on my door and I didn't answer. I didn't want to be around anyone. I was a murderer. Charlie's blood was on my hands and I can't forget that. I knew I had to learn to live with myself and cope with that. It is difficult knowing I was going to live forever, remembering that as my first vampire act.

Before going back to Florida, Renee begged me to move to with her. "Bella, you're all alone here. Please move back home." I grimaced. I already killed one parent; I was not going to kill the other. "No, Mom. I'm going to school here. Besides, I still need to finish high school." "Bella," she held my face, "You need to be with your family." I blinked and inhaled. That was a bad idea. The smell of the blood in her veins was strong. Renee had a floral scent. It smelled like roses and lilies. I knew my scent was floral too, but it was sweet. Very sweet. I knew my own scent from when I first entered my room. The air was thick with the floral perfume. I took Renee's hand from my face and held it. "Mom, I can take care of myself." She smiled, "I know, but I miss you." "I miss you too, but I have to move on. I want to go to college and I'm already enrolled at Peninsula." Renee's face crumpled, "You're right, honey. You're always right. I just miss you so much. And Charlie's g…" I turned away from her and covered my mouth. My teeth chattered as the sob build in my chest.

"Bella, sweetie," Renee held my shoulders, "don't cry." Inhaling deeply, I caught the flavor of Phil's blood. He was standing by the front door. His blood smelled like peppermint. My eyes opened and were focused on him. I was ready to strike. Bella was slipping away and the monster was emerging. "Bella, Charlie wouldn't want you to be upset." That cut into the monster's focus and I was Bella again. I looked back at my mom and she hugged me. "You know you could come home anytime." I smiled, "I know, Mom." I pulled back because her scent was bombarding me and I was losing control, "You just take care of yourself and Phil." They left and I was alone. Being alone didn't bother me as much as it did before. It was better that I was alone. No one can hurt me and I cannot hurt anyone.

After Renee left and my graduation, I came to see I had much more control than I thought. When I wanted the monster to stop, it did. When we were hiding from James, Alice told me about what it was like when a vampire tasted human blood, they became like sharks. They wouldn't, couldn't stop until they had all the blood. Edward told me when he encountered scents, depending on how strong it was, he became driven. The monster inside him took over and Edward disappeared. He was a monster, a hunter giving into his instincts. He wasn't able to stop. But, I was able to stop. At his best, Edward told me he would hold his breath and run. I didn't find that necessary.

Now, here I am. Nineteen years old, in college and living on my own. From everything Charlie left behind, I was able to buy myself a new car. I stayed true to Charlie. I bought myself a new Chevy Trailblazer. It was one of the fastest trucks. I still wanted some speed to my car. I still lived at the house, but it was painful to think Charlie wasn't there anymore. I gave Jacob his new truck and Billy all his fishing equipment. For a few months, I put away all the pictures of Charlie. Jacob came over frequently. Thanks to him, my cooking skills did not go to waste. When I ate, the food tasted better. My senses were much stronger and I could tell the minute differences in each bite. I could taste every seasoning I added to the dish. "Do you know what you want to do after college?" I smiled, "Jacob, I just started college. Let me finish, then I can answer that question." I had to keep Jacob at arm's length. I realize that I would have to leave Forks soon. I couldn't get closer to Jacob. I don't know if he would ever find out what I was and if he did, would he attack me? Would I be willing enough to defend myself and fight him off?


	5. Information

Chapter 5 – Information

I became an Anthropology major. I chose this major because I could study about other cultures and have an idea about their legends. Some legends held a seed of truth and that was what I was looking for. As part of my major, I have study every culture in European history. It was said larger schools would have more information to offer. One of my classes was "Monsters & Mythology." Of course I would jump at taking that course. My professor was colleagues with another professor from Washington State, who started this course. In class, students had to study about famous monsters in books and compared them to films. It was interesting to study this course, to see how humans really viewed mythical creatures. I knew, at least when it came to vampires, they were not completely right. Professor McCallister was fascinated with this subject. It could easily been seen that he loved the so-called 'creatures of the night.' At least once a week, the class would watch a monster film. The topic that I was mostly interested in was on vampires. He noted how the look of the vampire has changed in the past century. In "Nosferatu," Count Orlok was the vampire that haunted the village he resided in. I had to hide my laughter when the movie discussed how to kill the vampire. A woman pure in heart must willingly give her blood to him, so that he loses track of time until the cock's first crowing. Nosferatu looked inhuman, compared to how vampires were seen today.

"If something like that was stalking me, I would just stake it," one of the students commented after the film was over. "Vampires can't be staked." I looked up at the professor as he was muttering under his breath. After class was dismissed, I went to speak to him. "Prof. McCallister?" "Bella," he was a tall, lanky man with dull red hair and his scent was like chocolate, "what can I do for you?" "I couldn't help overhearing what you said about vampires. That they cannot be staked." He looked at me, "Good hearing. But, yes, what of it?" I smiled bashfully, "What did you mean by that? That's what all the legends say." He closed his briefcase and took it up off the desk, "Not all legends are true." "But all legends have a bit of truth in them." He laughed once, "Of course you're right about that. But trust me in this. Staking is not how you kill a vampire." He looked at his watch, "If you'll excuse me, I have to get to my next class." "It sounds like you believe that they really exist," I called after him. He turned and smiled, "You never know." On the drive home, I decided I would have to keep a close eye on Prof. McCallister. Before I reached the outskirts of Forks, I decided to hunt. Of course, I took on the Cullens' preference of feeding. Besides, the wolves protected Forks and they would realize a vampire was in the area when people started to going missing, again.

Something else I discovered about myself is that I could control the flow of my venom. When I bit my prey, I could stop my venom from flowing, so they were not left writhing in pain. Whenever I wanted a "snack," I would find a deer. After taking a small amount of its blood, it could run away. But when I wanted to incapacitate my prey, I would let my venom flow, but I mostly did that with larger, more dangerous prey. While driving home, I thought about the differences I had from the Cullens. Edward said he had to be in control all the time and it took a great deal of concentration. But for me, it was fairly easy. He was over eighty years old and he still had to focus all the time, but I was a few months old and it seemed effortless to me. I could silence the monster at any time. I visit the reservation quite frequently. None of the wolves could tell the difference. This was becoming strange. I've been this way for months and still, nothing has changed. I was glad that they could not see what I really was. However, I was somewhat disappointed. I wanted my skin to glow like his did. I could walk in sunlight and my skin did not shine as brightly.

"Bella, how is school?" I was visiting Emily. She was the one I called now when I wanted girl time. "It's wonderful. I love it." She was putting the finishing touches on her wedding dress. She and Sam were getting married next weekend. "I really don't want to be in this wedding, but I always promised Emily I would be and she would be in mine." Leah Clearwater was very unhappy. None of them told me, but I could smell it. She was a werewolf. On the night of the bonfire, Billy was telling the legends of the Quileute tribe. I heard Jared whisper about Leah being the first female wolf in the tribe. Jacob explained to me about Sam imprinting on Emily and he had to leave Leah. "It wasn't pretty. If he never met Emily, it was possible that Sam would have married Leah. They were heading that way and Leah was very happy. You could see it, compared to how she is today. She was very sweet and always smiling." I thought about the comparison Jacob told me about the Leah he knows today to the Leah she was before.

I remembered Leah from when I began to spend time with Jacob. She had long hair and was chatting away on Billy's phone. Leah came into the living room. Her hair was cropped short. She had to maintain her short haircut because when she was a wolf, her fur would be short too. "Hi Bella." I smiled, "Hey Leah." Leah had her dress hung over her arm, "It fits perfectly, Emmy." Emily smiled at Leah, "Ok, are you hungry?" I have noticed that Leah's appetite has picked up, making a stronger confirmation that she was a wolf. Leah walked past me and she did not flinch being near me. It was baffling that none of the wolves could tell I was a vampire. It was clear that I was a different kind of vampire. I still tried to do research on what I was, but the internet wasn't getting me anywhere. It was like before when I wanted to do research on vampires when Jacob told me the story.

In class, we were now studying Brom Stoker's Dracula. It was difficult for me to watch the movie. Dracula was so in love with a human, who looked like his lost love. He came to love her for who she is and it was painful watching them together. I know I didn't look like someone he cared about before, but he cared about me. At least with Dracula, he loved her to the end. "Ok, now what did you learn from this film?" One student raised his hand, "Bad overacting." Everyone laughed and Prof. McCallister smiled, "Besides that?" I raised my hand, "This story was strongly based on Nosferatu. He was attracted to a human that looked like his lover who died." He nodded, "Exactly." Once again I have impressed Prof. McCallister.

"In today's media, vampires have taken on a different role. Today, more vampires are being portrayed as good people in a bad situation. They are viewed as romantic figures, promising eternal love. Also, the main characters are choosing to live alternate lifestyle. Basically, like humans, vampires have a choice on how they want to live their lives." Prof. McCallister's eyes lit up from statement, "Exactly." After that response, I finally got him to discuss vampires with me. I wanted to know how much he knew. "Your response was very impressive today, Ms. Swan." I smiled, "Thank you." "Ms. Swan, did you know that vampires were real?" I raised an eyebrow, "Really?" He sighed, "Yes. Actually there is a coven in Italy that has been around for 3000 years." "Interesting, how do you know this?" He stood, "Let me show you." We were in his office after class. He was more comfortable in his own space to talk about what he was most interested in. He moved a sliding door to the side and pulled out a painting hanging on a track, "See these three men?" I nodded. "This painting is from the 1600's." He pulled out another painting and my eyes widened. It was the same painting I saw in Carlisle's office. Carlisle standing on a balcony with three men; two with dark hair and the other with snowy-white hair. "Turn of the century," my response was more like a question. I knew exactly when this painting was done. He pulled out another painting, "Early 1900's?" He looked at me, "Very good. Now look at this," he pulled out an art book from on the shelves. Flipping through the book, he showed me a photograph. It was the same trio, standing on the same balcony, hidden in the shadows, "This was taken in the 1950s." I looked up at his with speculative eyes. "They are called the Volturi. They are the enforcers of their laws."

Prof. McCallister informed me about all he knew about the vampire world and he knew a great deal. "Professor? How do you know so much about this?" He sighed and sat behind his desk, "Because I am related to Aro. I am a long descendent of his human family. It's a family secret that has been passed down for centuries." I blinked, "You're related to a vampire?" He half-smiled, "Yes, but he doesn't know. Again, one of their laws is to keep the secret of their world from humans." "Hmm." I knew all this already, but I was not aware about the laws. Edward never told me about the laws. It added another reason to why he left. He broke the law by letting me know what he was. I was putting his family in danger. Thinking about this, my arm clutched around my torso. The hole was beginning to burn. Prof. McCallister didn't notice. He was too busy looking over the art book, "If only I could find one." I looked up, "Find what?" He looked up at me, "It's nothing." I could hear his heartbeats increasing, causing the blood to color his face. I smiled sweetly, "Tell me." "No, really."

I stood and looked him in eyes, "Prof., what were you talking about?" "The other kind." "The other kind of what?" He half-blinked, "The other kind of vampires. They're called Daywalkers." My neck jerked back, almost breaking the compulsion, "Daywalkers?"


	6. Goodbye

Chapter 6 – Goodbye

I had Prof. McCallister sit down and tell me everything he knew. "Daywalkers are a stronger, more conspicuous breed of vampire. Unlike the others, they have their own blood. They are as strong as a newborn vampire and that strength doesn't fade. They can have children." I almost broke the compulsion on that bit of information. "Really? Tell me more. How do you become a Daywalker?" "For a vampire, they need to have blood in their body and then be bitten by a Daywalker. The Daywalker's venom, mixed with the blood causes the change. For a human, they must ingest Daywalker blood, be bitten and then they must feed to complete the change." "How do Daywalkers feed?" "They feed on humans and vampires." I blinked, "Explain that." "They can bite a vampire and draw out the blood from their bodies. The vampire lives, but they would need to hunt again. You can see the vampire's eyes turn from crimson to black."

I tapped my foot. There had to be more he knew about, "Ok. Why did you want to find one?" "It is believed that the Daywalkers are no more. Aro had them wiped out by werewolves." "If the Daywalkers are as strong as you say, how can wolves kill them?" Prof. McCallister hadn't moved, "Wolves are the only things that can kill vampires and Daywalkers. However, the Daywalkers are more difficult to kill. Two to three wolves are needed for one vampire, but five are enough to take down a single Daywalker." I looked back at him, "Ok. Prof., I was bitten by a vampire last year and a year later, I become a Daywalker. How did that happen?" He stared at me, "You may be descendent of a Daywalker. It is believed that Daywalkers let the Volturi think they died out. A few got away and they agreed to only mate with humans. They wanted to dilute the bloodline. Their blood could be passed on to later generations. They hoped that their children's children would avenge them and destroy the Volturi." "Hang on. I know some werewolves and they cannot tell that what I am. Can you explain that?" "The werewolves couldn't tell the Daywalkers from humans. Aro had to trick them. He had his humans point out the Daywalkers and when the wolves attacked, the Daywalkers defended themselves and their mates. That is how the wolves knew the Daywalkers from the humans. But that is how several Daywalkers got away. They pretended to be humans, escaped and continued to mate." I tilted my head. "Huh?" That was an interesting fact, but there was a hole in the information, "Well, another vampire drew out the venom from my body before it could change me." "It was too late. Once the venom was in the blood, it awakened the gene. It is a very dormant gene and with no venom in your body, the change was very slow."

I was a Daywalker. My ancestors were Daywalkers and now, I was one, too. Something came to my mind, "Wait? A regular vampire bit me. How could I become a Daywalker from his venom when he is a different breed?" "It was in your blood. The blood is the stronger than the venom. Again, the gene was dormant and the vampire venom awakened it, causing you to change." I huffed, "This is amazing. Did you know I could eat human food?" "That was the Daywalkers. They could blend in better with the humans than vampires. They had the physical beauty of vampires, but their skin was luminous in the sunlight, inside of diamond-like facets of the vampire skin. The Daywalkers are faster. They have their human eyes, but when they feed, their eyes turned blue. When their body needs more blood, which is how you can tell they are Daywalkers. Their pupils turned black and veins appear around their eyes." I have not experienced that. I could always feel when my body needed more blood and it never came to that. I always hunted before that could happen, but now, I was curious to how it looks. There was so much more I wanted to know, but I doubt this human would have much more information.

"Is there any written information about Daywalkers?" "Cornell University. I have a colleague there who has an extensive library about this topic." A coy smile grew on my face, "Well, it looks like I'll be transferring to Cornell. Will you write me a letter of recommendation?" He nodded, "You're one of my best students." I smiled, "Thank you." I was letting the compulsion lose its effect, until a thought struck me, "Do you know of any other vampires?" "Yes. Aro's confidant in the portrait from the 1700s. His name was Carlisle. He was different from his kind. He fed on the blood of animals. He is a few centuries old." "Just so you know, Daywalkers can feed on animals too." He nodded, "That is interesting. I always believed that the nutritional value of animals' blood was not as good as human blood. However, Daywalkers' bodies used the blood more efficiently. They could go an entire month without hunting." This was a lot of information to take in, but my quicker brain retained it all. He knew about Carlisle. I had to take care of that. I leaned closer, "Prof. McCallister, I want you to forget about this conversation. It never happened. But, I do want you to feel comfortable discussing vampires with me. Also, regarding Carlisle, you will never mention him again. If you agree to this, I may change you into a Daywalker. Do you agree?" "Yes." I walked away, "And, I will be needing that letter of recommendation, so before I go, let's work on that."

Before the semester ended, I had to tell Jacob I was leaving. This wasn't going to be easy. Jacob and I were very close. In some ways, I loved Jacob, but that wouldn't help anything now. I would have to hurt him. There were times when we were walking and I would hear him muttering to himself, "Tell her, Jacob. Tell her the truth. Just say it, 'I love you.'" He never said it, but it rocked me to my core. He was in love with me. I couldn't let him say it. I knew how much it hurt to have someone you love leave, but in this case, it was best for him. It would be better if Jacob forgot about me. Maybe, just maybe, Edward felt the same way. Besides the fact that he broken the law, it would be too dangerous for me to be around his family if the Volturi found out about me. Well, if I ran into the Volturi, I could take care of them myself.

It was the day of Emily and Sam's wedding. The ceremony was in the early afternoon and the reception was still going on. "Emily, I have to get going." She hugged me, "Have you told Jacob yet?" I grimaced, "I've been trying." She took my hands, "It won't be easy." I half-smiled, "You're right. But I should get going. I do need to pack." I walked away, leaving Jacob and the other pack members laughing away. "She's leaving already?" I closed my eyes and sighed. I wanted to slip away unnoticed, but Jacob was attuned to me. He needed to forget about me. It would be better for him. "Bella!" I turned and feigned a smile. I let fatigue show on my face, "Hey Jake." He put his arm around my waist, "I'll take you home." "Jacob, you guys have the night off. Don't waste it." He smiled and tightened his arm around me, "I'm not." This was a fight I wasn't going to win. At least have one good night before I have to break his heart.

Jacob and I had fun, just watching a movie, laughing and talking. He fell asleep with his arm around me. What I realized about myself, when someone hugged me, they didn't notice the hardness of my skin. When I hugged any of them; that was the first thing I noticed. That and the coolness of their skin. There were times Emily held my hand and she didn't shudder away from my touch. While he slept, I thought about what I would tell him. I couldn't tell him the truth about what I was now. Before he woke up, I decided to make breakfast. Sort of trying to soften him up. After the meal, that's when I would tell him my decision. In the kitchen, the smell of toast, eggs, cheese, bacon and sausage filled the air. I could hear Jacob's snore stuttering as he woke up. Preparing myself, I placed his breakfast on the table, "Good morning, Jake." He walked into the kitchen, yawning widely and topless, "Morning Bella." He kissed my cheek and towed me to the table, "This looks great." "Yeah, I made enough for three people, so you should be satisfied." His body shook with his laughter. We sat and ate together. He attacked the food on his plate before I could even finish serving out my own. Jacob was so involved in his food to notice that I hardly ate. I was too anxious. It was funny, I was a vampire and butterflies still assaulted my stomach when I was nervous. I tried to eat, but it wasn't successful.

Finally, he sighed and leaned back, "That was amazing. You and Emily should open a restaurant." "Yea, she already knows how to prepare meals for a lot of people. Just have to work on the portions." Jacob laughed, "What do you want to do today?" "I have to pack." He looked at me, "For what?" I bit my lip, "I'm transferring school, so I have to move." His shoulders drooped and his eyes saddened, "Seriously? When did you decide to do this?" "Last week, when I got my acceptance letter." Panic was starting to color his face, "To what school?" I had to maintain my composure, "To Cornell, in Ithaca…. New York." Jacob's eyes widened, "New York?" he bark, "Bella, you're moving to New York?" Looking into his eyes, I answered, "Yes." "Bella, you said Forks was your home." This was getting hard. I had to end it. "I know I did, but Charlie was right." This was low, but it would work, "I could be doing so much more than attending a community college." "What about Washington State?" he offered.

I closed my eyes, then looked at him again, "I want to get out of Washington. Besides, Cornell is a great school and it offers more than the universities here do." Jacob stood, "Fine, just leave then!" I stood, "Jacob, this has nothing to do with you. It's what I want. I want to see the world." His hand was trembling under my touch. "Fine and I'll be stuck here, protecting La Push." I had to do it, "Jacob, you're going to forget about me. You're going to imprint on someone. I'm just keeping you from her. Jacob, I'm not your soul mate." He looked at me, with his frame shaking and his eyes red, "Bye Bella." Jacob turned to walk out of the kitchen, but I caught his wrist. He tried to jerk his hand out of my hold, but I wasn't letting go. He couldn't look at me, so I just hugged him, "I'm leaving you in charge of Charlie's house. I promise I'll be back. This isn't goodbye. It's more like 'see you later.' Can you understand that?" He was motionless, but soon his arms wound around me, "I can. See you later, Bells."


	7. Legends

Chapter 7 – Legends

I drove to Ithaca from Forks. The time alone to think was helpful. Also, though I had great control, I didn't want to chance myself locked in a plane cabin with humans. I was a few months old and alone. It felt comforting having some idea on what I was, but there was still so much more for me to learn. Was I the only one? I didn't believe that. If there are more like me, they must be living in secret among the humans. As Prof. McCallister put it, were they still diluting the bloodline, waiting for their time to strike? Thinking about it, I wouldn't avenge my ancestors. Ancestors, until recently, never knew I had. Before leaving Forks, I made arrangements for a house of my own in Ithaca. I didn't want to be in an apartment building, for the same reason I didn't want to fly; close proximity to humans. Cornell University was amazing. It was so much larger and grander than Peninsula. The campus had over 10 libraries, but the one I would need was Ollin Library. That was the library that held all the information I needed. On my first day, I went to meet McCallister's colleague, Dr. Jeffrey Perry.

"Hello, Ms. Swan, it is lovely to meet you. Prof. McCallister spoke very highly of you." I smiled, "Thank you." "He went on and on about your in-depth knowledge on mythical beings." I smiled, "Thank you. I did a lot of reading when I was younger and they fascinated me." Dr. Perry showed me the university's restricted collection in the archives and he was able to give me a pass to go to the section whenever I wanted. "Do not abuse this. Students are not allowed in here. This is a privilege." I smiled, "Thank you. And thank you for trusting me with this." He smiled, "See you in class." I sat in the library for hours. Going through all the delicate papers and drawings, it was fascinating to see the ancient illustrations humans made about mythical beings. I read about many young men who were bitten by werewolves and lost forever.

There was a time when there was a spike in infant deaths, when creatures known as 'immortal children' were created. The legend said when vampires found out that Daywalkers can bear their own children; they wanted to see if they could create their own. A vampire named Sasha had bitten a baby boy and he was uncontrollable. He could not be taught to control himself and when he had infant tantrums, the child was unstoppable. The Volturi trio found Sasha with her newborn creation. She kept the secret from her daughters, so they would be completely innocent. Aro had the child destroyed, along with Sasha. Her daughters were spared, because of their ignorance of the child. Aro wanted to know more about the immortal children. He had some made and studied them for years. He saw there were some covens that fought to their deaths to protect the children. They were very beautiful and completely irresistible.

That was interesting, but that was just a thousand years ago. I had to go back even further. With those older books, I had to handle them with even more care. I was able to go back more than 3000 years. In that collection, I found a worn book. It was darkened with age. There was a newer book with it. In the old book, it was written in an ancient language. The newer book was its companion, translating the stories to English. I looked through the ancient book and I found a drawing. It was of two men. One of them, I recognized as Aro. But his completion had a light-skin complexion and grey eyes. This Aro was human. His hair was shorter and he was a young man. The Aro from Carlisle's painting was older. He looked older than Carlisle, late thirties, early forties, maybe? He stood with a man with red hair and blue eyes. On the bottom of the page it was written 'Darius and his servant, Aro.' On the next page, it was another drawing. In this one, Aro was older, with pale skin and violent crimson eyes, but Darius looked exactly the same. They were standing away from each other. In another picture, it was of a battle. Some of the fighters were paler than their enemies. On either side of the painting were Darius and Aro staring at each other. Referring to the ancient books companion, it unfolded the stories behind the three pictures.

In the time of the early years, the land was overrun with strong beings. Beings much stronger than humans. The 'blood drinkers' were known among the peasants. There were two blood drinkers, one of the day and the other of the night. The two breeds lived in harmony, though the creatures of the night were weaker than the beings of the day. The night beings were not seen until the sun went down. They hunted the humans, some going through more than two humans at a time. When the night beings hunted, their prey was never seen again. The beings of the day were not easily recognized. They hunted humans as well, but the human prey was seen again. These creatures did not kill off their prey; instead they made them do their bidding. In this time, humans were kept as slaves. These dark beings were worshipped and feared. This era lasted for centuries, until the humans discovered the large creatures that could destroy their dark overlords. One human, Viktor went to these animal destroyers and asked to be like them. The creatures he sought were wolves, but they were unlike other wolves. They were stronger, faster and bigger. These wolves were easy to recognize because they walked like men. Viktor returned and he laid waste to the overlords. Few of them survived and Viktor showed mercy. For Viktor, for what he sought, he came to realize was a curse.

He changed into a wolf on the full moon and on his third full moon; he was not able to change back to his human form. He protected the humans and did not allow other wolves to harm them. He turned his sons into wolf protectors as well and kept that bloodline strong. The beings that were spared were Darius, the leader of the beings of the day & Armand, the leader of the night beings. Darius brought with him, his loyal servant, Janosh and his human family. Armand loss all of his kind because they were weaker than the day-beings. Armand wanted revenge, but Darius was against it. Armand grew jealous of Darius and his kind for they can walk in the sunlight and not be noticed by the wolves. Darius refused to create more of his kind, after seeing the death of some of his family. As time went on, Armand plotted his revenge against the humans and the wolves. Darius wanted to see his human family of servants prosper and he aided them. Among Janosh's family was his son and young daughter, Aro & Didyme. They were closest to Darius, because their parents were very loyal. Aro asked to be like Darius to help protect their family, but Darius refused. Learning this, Armand deceived Aro and changed him into a night beings. Aro stood against Darius and wanted revenged against the wolves. He studied them and saw they were easily manipulated. After some years, Aro destroyed Armand and took his power over the coven. Before killing Armand, Aro changed his two closest human friends, Caius & Marcus. Aro came to love power, so he wanted to increase his numbers. Aro changed his sister, Didyme, further hurting Darius. Aro hope she would be a powerful addition to his coven. Darius still refused to create more of his kind.

Aro, Marcus & Caius sent their kind to destroy the wolves, but they lost many. Aro went to Darius and commanded him to create more of his kind. Darius thought Aro was abusing his power and it would destroy him. Making more day-beings would not help. In this time, while Aro plotted and took over the coven; more of the day-beings were discovered. They followed Darius because he was the eldest. He refused Aro again and ordered his kind to not create more like themselves. Aro's anger grew and he ordered his humans to go to the wolves and inform them of the day-beings in the mountains. He had them inform the wolves on how to recognize them. The wolves attacked, destroying several day-beings, including Darius' mate, Cassandra. Seeing his love die, Darius' heart broke and his true nature appeared. He wanted his own revenge. Knowing Aro would be expecting it; Darius learned patience and believed his children would avenge him. Darius ordered the remainder of his kind to only mate with humans, until a time when Aro was powerful and weaker. Their children would destroy the trio that sent the wolves. Afraid the wolves would turn on them, Caius had them hunted and almost wiped out, so only the night creatures would be the strongest. From the day his love died, Darius named his kind the 'Daywalkers.'

Darius had many lovers, but none replaced his lost love. He taught his children how to fight. He promised when the time came, he would change them and they would stand side by side to destroy Aro's coven. For centuries, Darius watched Aro and saw his coven grow. Darius was ready to take his revenge, but he did not attack. The time was not right. As time went on, Darius' children grew in numbers, waiting for their time to avenge their father and fallen mother.


	8. Thoughts

Chapter 8 – Thoughts

I closed the book in awe of what I just read. Humans were once slaves to vampires. Darius was older than Aro, but no one knew how old Darius was. Aro was jealous of Darius. He knew Darius refused to create more, so he had them destroyed. But he wasn't completely successful. More importantly, I'm a descendent of Darius. Thinking about it, I was curious to who carried the gene, Rene or Charlie? If it was Charlie, he could have survived. My eyes closed as my breath hitched in my throat. Charlie could have survived regardless if I had some semblance of control. Shaking my head, I dispelled the awful thoughts. I found that it was easy for me to push my emotions away. My emotions didn't rule me anymore, when I didn't want them to. I could shut them off. Opening the book again, I read that Aro wanted to find the Daywalkers, hoping to make an alliance. That was an interesting fact. From what I read, Aro was a cunning man, who loved power. Power was absolute and surrounding himself with the powerful to defend himself, Aro's power was difficult to take. I held no animosity towards the Volturi, so there was no need for me to attack them. Even if the upraise is ordered, I would distance myself from the fight. While researching, I read more about the history of the Volturi. Romanian vampires tried to stand against the Volturi and lost. Aro ordered their castles to be burned. As he got older, Aro continued to show his power and in some ways, abused it. He would send inquisitions and collect the survivors as loyal followers.

While doing more research, the hours waned on into the late night. All the history was so interesting. It was easy to get lost in reading them. Comparing the mortality legends to human history and it was surprising to see how they corresponded. In the 1300-1400's, there was a large decrease in the human population. At the time, the humans contributed that fact to vampire attacks. Looking at the other history, there was another war among vampires. For once, the Volturi weren't one of the fighters. It was written that Aro watched the fights and he wanted collect more powerful allies. He sent out scouts to find more to add to his powerful coven. One of the scouts came across two young humans who had lost their family. Aro met the young ones and was intrigued by them. They hadn't reached their adult years, but they weren't children. Curious to how they would be, Aro made them into immortals. The twins were more than Aro ever hoped for. They had abilities he had never expected. To this day, the witch twins stand at Aro's side.

It was so amazing that humans had so much written information on this hidden world. If only they knew how true it was. The infant mortality rates and the decrease in the humans were because of vampires. I saw it was just pass one in the morning. The burn in my throat was growing. At night, the campus was beautiful. It merged the architectural and natural beauty perfectly. The campus was snuggled in the middle of the mountains. I drove to my new home. After changing to my more durable clothes, I ran into the night to find prey. Running north, where the human population was scarcer, I found a pack of coyotes. That was something I never encountered in Forks. I devoured the blood of all five animals. To make things seem more natural, I ran in a 100 mile radius, spreading out the bodies. On the way home, I picked off a stray dog. While running, I came across an old structure in the middle of the forest. From the looks of it, it was being restored. I could smell recent human scents all around. There was another scent. This scent was different from the others. This scent was reminiscent of apple and pear. This wasn't a human scent. I wasn't nervous. If the wolves could not pick up on my scent, I doubted they would be able to distinguish my scent. Leaving the structure, I headed home.

My house was fairly new and colonial style. It had a few furnishings on the first floor. I had to maintain a public face in the off chance someone came to visit. The only person who knew where I lived was Renee. I would have to get more furniture for her and Phil. I spent the rest of the night studying. I was still in college, after all. Surprisingly, I was enjoying college life immensely. I was at school for a few weeks now and I loved it. This was only a college campus, but it offered so much more than Forks ever did. There was so much more diversity in my life. Dr. Perry was curious to how I was enjoying college life and the information I got from the archives. "This is so different from what I'm used to." The sun was shining bright on campus that day and I was enjoying walking in it. My skin glowed while walking in the light. But being in college was not easy, financially. I got a job on campus at a café. The manager was hesitant, but I used my abilities to get the job. I gladly took late night shifts. It was quieter then and I could read. "She is so beautiful." Hiding my grimace, I turned away from the student looking at me. "I'm going to talk to her." His companion held his wrist, "Dude, she looks busy." He scoffed, "Not too busy to talk to me. Once she sees an upperclassman is talking to her, she'll forget all about that book." Hearing his chair scoot back and his footsteps coming towards me, I sighed in exasperation.

"Hello." "Hi," answering in a flat voice. He put his hand on the table and leaned on his stiffened arm, "You have got to be the most beautiful girl on campus." I feigned a smile, "Why thank you." "Well, you're welcome." My smile disappeared, "Now go away," responding curtly. His body stiffened, "Oh, don't be like that, sugar." I looked at him coldly, remembering that night in Port Angeles. Closing my book, I looked at my suitor, "What's your name?" He smiled, "You don't know who I am?" I noticed he was wearing a letterman's jacket. From the reflection in another student's glass, it showed his name was Coleman. "Not really. But that's because I'm new here." He smiled, "Well, allow me to show you around campus." He reached for a lock of my hair, but I quickly caught his hand, "Look at me." Holding his eyes, my voice became hypnotic, "You will not bother me again. You will know to leave me and you will tell your little friends to leave me alone, too. Do you understand?" He half-blinked, "I understand. Sorry I bothered you." He walked away, back to his friends. The sun was beginning to set and it was almost time for me to go to work.

At the café, it was quiet and slow. I thought about the legends I read and what I learned. If I met someone and we were together, physically, he and I could have a child. A child? I was immortal, so children weren't necessary, but still, it was a nice thought. To have someone who loved me enough, that we would create a new life together. There wasn't much written on how the Daywalkers had children. Thinking about it, I thought that the children were immortal. I was curious to when the child stopped aging? There wasn't much written on Darius after he began plotting his revenge. Was he still alive, old and withered? Did he turn to dust? If the opportunity ever came, I would answer these questions. I knew I wasn't going to age. I was frozen, but the children? They were born vampires. Maybe they didn't age beyond a certain time.

These questions buzzed in my brain for hours. With my immortality, my task will be to answer my unanswered questions. Should I start by finding other Daywalkers? Not vampires. The Volturi mustn't know I exist. They would want to destroy me. It was written Aro sought one for an ally, but there was no telling if that still held up. My eyes scanned the room and the outside of the window as my mind wandered. It was dark outside, but there were some classes still in session. There was a tickling sensation down my spine when my eyes fell on a blond student. He moved so gracefully. Too graceful for me to ignore. He was joined by another blond man, who moved as gracefully as the student did. Recognizing them, my eyes widened and my mouth fell open. Jasper? Carlisle?


	9. Overheard

Chapter 9 – Overheard

"Robert?" The café manager came over, "Yea?" My eyes were locked on them, "Who are they?" Robert followed my gazed, "Oh, that's Dr. Cullen and his son-in-law. The doc does lectures twice a week and he's a doctor in town." My eyes watched as they walked further away. "How was this lecture, Carlisle?" Their conversation was fading from my ears. Robert chuckled, "You should know the doc and his son are married." I looked at him, "I gotta go." "Bella, you still have another hour." I groaned and looked him in the eyes, "I need …to go." "Good night." In the night air, I could pick up their scents; seawater and rising bread. Moving quietly, I followed their trail. The scent trail led into Wing Hall. I could hear their distinct footsteps going to second floor. Looking at the front of the building, there were several pillars. Looking around, there was no one outside the building. Listening closely, I heard no one was close enough to see me. "My class is pretty interesting. Discussing ethical is always a tricky topic. The views vary from person to person." A light switch clicked and a door closed. Scaling one of the pillars, I ran across the roof until I found an unlocked window. Slipping in, I listened for their voices through the floor until I found them.

"I'm glad Esme recommended coming here. It is so different from the other places we've been. My lecture was interesting. It is just amazing on how medicine has come so far." Jasper chuckled, "I would imagine. I remember reading that doctors would hit their patients so hard in the head, making a hole in their skulls, so evil spirits could escape the body." Carlisle laughed, "It's called 'trial and error,' Jasper." "Yea, a very big error. It is a wonder humans have grown in number as they did." There was a brief silence, "It is so good to see you laughing. You hardly laugh at home." "Carlisle." Another silence, "Oh yes. I'm sorry." "Don't be. It's my fault he's like that in the first place." "No, it's not. Things will get better. He just got home. He has to get adjusted." "I don't think he will. Were I in his position, I don't think I ever could." Carlisle sighed, "Neither could I." They were both silent for a long moment. One of them sighed, "It's hard seeing him like this. I hardly recognized him when Alice and I found him. Carlisle, he was hidden in a crawl space above a restaurant." "I hate seeing my son like this. If only….?" Some wheels from a chair squeaked, "Carlisle, if Alice did that, it could make things worse. He would be angry with her. He made her promise, even when she didn't want to." There was a muffled sound of palms clasping together, "I know. Sometimes I think about Alice doing it, so I can know if she is all right? Alice said she was seeing glimpses at first. The way she described Bella. Her face stained with tears, alone in her room."

My eyes widened. It shouldn't surprise me that Carlisle would be worried about me, but it did. "I know, Carlisle." Something slammed, "If only I had more control." There was a brief chuckle, "I understand, but please don't break my desk." "Sorry." "Jasper, she knew the risks and she was willing to take them. It was Edward who made the decision." "Because of me." My eyes were fixed on the window as I listened to their conversation. "Things will not go back to the way they were before. I have to admit, our family felt more complete since he met Bella." "I got that, too. Edward was never so happy before. Before her, he was just content." Carlisle sighed. "And things cannot go back to the way before they met. Once you've known love, it's hard to go back." There was more silence, "That's true. I don't know what I would have done if I lost Esme." There was movement in the office. There was a clacking, a rhythm on a hard surface, "I just wish I knew what I could do to help my son?" "There's nothing _you_ can do. He has to do it himself." "You're right. Edward needs to make the decision to go back to her." My mouth fell open, then quickly, I clamped my hand over my mouth, before a sound could escape. "In the time he met her, Edward has shown so much restraint. More than I thought any one person could have. Her blood was intoxicating to him and he endured it every day just to be with her. He dealt with all the impure thoughts about Bella from their teenager peers." There was a short laugh, "The protective thoughts from her father. And, when her blood was exposed, he held himself back from draining her. And, worse of all, looking her in the eye and lie to her. To tell her, according to him, the most blasphemous thing he has ever said, 'Bella, I don't want you to come with me.' For him to stand there and watch all the pain on her face and he wouldn't…. couldn't do anything to comfort her, because he thought it was best for her, that is the greatest control of all."

My teeth slammed together, trying to dispel a sound. "I could never say that to Alice. I'm too selfish. Edward thought she would be safer without us in her life, but I still worry about her. Alice has been looking for Victoria, but she's getting nothing." "At least the wolves are there. They can keep the town and Bella safe. Edward always said Bella needed looking after. They knew she was close to us, so they may keep a closer eye on her." Something was moved in the room, "That's a small consolation. But for Edward, I don't think he'll ever recover. He told me that he was surprising that she believed him so easily. And to be honest, so am I. The love I felt from them was so strong. How could she believe he could just stop loving her like that? She knew that when something as strong as love comes for our kind, it's permanent. Edward still loves her beyond all reason." Carlisle sighed, "I know. I'm happy to have Edward home, but it feels incomplete. When he arrived at Tanya's house after we left, he wasn't the same person. She wanted to be one of us. If she had asked, I would have changed her myself." There was a movement of fabric, "We better get going." "You're right. Alice wants to fit us for out tuxes for the benefit."

There was a rustling of paper, closing of several books, the knock of book covers on shelves, a light switch clicking and a door closing into place. Their footsteps faded as they descended the stairs. They were loud again, on the asphalt outside the building. My body was locked in its position on the floor. My back was ramrod straight against the wall. My mind was buzzing. Jasper blamed himself, Alice promised not to look, Carlisle was worried and Edward….. Edward still…. He still loved me. Edward still loves me. Edward loves me! Carlisle would have done it. All I had to do was ask. My eyes closed and a single tear fell from my eye. My fingers brushed at the surprising moisture from my eye. I looked at my damp fingertips and more tears came. I'm crying. I can cry. I couldn't fight the smile that grew across my lips. I was crying, they were here and so was he. My breathing was erratic from joy. The joy that was erupting out of me needed to be focused. I only focused on one thing; running. It had begun to rain while I sat on the floor, but I didn't care. I was running so fast, the trees passed me in a blur. My mind was so open, thinking about what I heard. They were here and so was he. He was just as miserable and depressed as I was.

He still loves me and I still love him. Edward and I still loved each other. I stopped dead in my tracks. The rain saturated my hair. Wait, we were still in love and I was running. "What am I doing?" My voice rang through an octave. He was here and I was here and we loved each other. I didn't know where they lived. But that could be easily solved. I ran back to campus and went straight for the administrative offices. The only people in the building were the cleaning crew. Sneaking through a window, I turned on a computer. I was searching for Carlisle's address. I had to find Edward. We were apart too long. I was unsuccessful in getting the information I needed. The computer was encrypted. Opening the window, I jumped down to the ground. Putting my hood up, I walked around campus by myself. It was getting late, but that wasn't a concern. I could protect myself easily. My smile never left my lips. But soon, it began to fade. How could he leave me alone to the mercy of Victoria? Alice was looking for her, but she never found her. If he was there, then Laurent wouldn't have tried to kill me.

I dwelled on the deadly message Laurent gave me about Victoria. My mind was brought back to the present when my eyes fell on a golden flyer. It advertised a charity event at the Clinton House. It advertised that a few select students at the top of their class would be invited. Alice was getting their tuxedos ready and she needed them home. Also, this was a charity event. Carlisle was the one who loved to give back. It fit perfectly. Alice loves any reason to dress people up. Carlisle has a kind and giving nature and he would want to make a large donation to the charity and it was a formal event. My smile returned. I had to get invited to this event and I knew how to do it.


	10. Ready

Chapter 10 – Ready

In Dr. Perry's class, I showed myself as the best and the brightest. He spoke highly of me, but I had to guarantee my invitation to the benefit. "Dr. Perry?" knocking on his office door. "Bella. Come in." I stood at his desk, "What is this benefit I keep hearing about? If you don't mind me asking, I was very curious." He smiled, "The Clinton House Event. The school donates to the historical buildings and the house hosts the event. Only a few students are invited." I smiled, "Oh. Besides being invited, are there other ways for students to go?" He chuckled, "Buy the tickets, of course, but they're very expensive." Biting my lip, I looked up, "Dr. Perry." He looked at me and his shoulders slumped, "I want to go to the benefit. You will put my name on the list of student invitations." "Of course, Bella." Well, since I have his attention already, I smiled, "Oh and I need Dr. Cullen's address." He turned to his computer, clicked the mouse a few times and a paper came out of the printer. "Thank you, Dr. Perry. And you'll remember putting me on the list, because you have been really impressed with me, but you will not remember giving me Dr. Cullen's address." I left the office and read the address. They lived a little further north. After studying a map, I learned how to get to their house.

While contemplating on visiting them, I rethought that. I knew Alice wasn't looking for me, but she may see me coming to the house. I wanted to be a surprise for all of them. I knew Rosalie wouldn't care, but the rest of them would be happy. The benefit would be perfect. It was going to be this weekend. That didn't give me much time to prepare. I had to find a dress. First, I looked around town. It was like Port Angeles, except there was more than one dress shop. I may have to go further away to find my perfect dress. The irony here is I wished Alice already knew I was here, so she could help me. Going on the school websites, I looked up when Carlisle had his lectures. Contemplating it, I thought about sitting in on one of them. It would be nice to see Carlisle again, in a different setting than a hospital. I was interesting in seeing Carlisle as a teacher. I found his class and sat in the far back. I blocked the view of my face with a book.

"Tonight, we are discussing Ecosystem Disruption and Emerging Infectious Diseases." My smile grew watching Carlisle in this manner. He was fit to be a teacher. He had the knowledge to be a wonderful instructor, but he looked too young to be that educated. Looking over the students, I recognized two people. One had dark black hair, with a muscular build and the other had long golden hair. I couldn't say their names, risking the chance of them hearing me. I sat for most of the lecture. As it was dwindling down, I snuck away before he could notice. My excitement hadn't decreased. I decided to run again, but this time, I went south. Knowing them, they would go further into the mountains, heading north. Running into them would derail my plans. I wasn't making my plans definite, because Alice would see. The excitement erupted at the thought of seeing Alice again. My happiness was pushing me faster. I didn't realize how far I ran until I saw the lights of the city. Stopping, I was on the bank of the Hudson, looking at the Manhattan skyline. My eyes widened taking in the city. Looking at the dark water, I contemplated how fast I really was. Going back a few miles and charging forward, I ran straight through the water and was on the other side. I jumped up and down in enjoyment. This night was so wonderful for me.

The city was teeming with life. So much more life than I have ever experienced. My new senses were alive with every new sight, sound and smell. My feet pulled me forward. I took in all the buildings, the advertisements and the different languages I heard. I remained there for several hours. In a display window of a high-scale store, I saw the most beautiful dress. It was the perfect shade of blue. Edward loved me in blue. Looking at the mannequin, I knew this was the dress for me. Dawn was beginning to break in the east. I waited as the street began to fill with morning commuters. Waiting across the street, someone was finally opening the little shop. Moving quickly, I went over to her. "Hello." She jumped a bit, "Uhh, hello." I smiled, "I was wondering how much that dress in the window is?" She looked back at the dress, then to me, "You really like it?" "I love it. That shade of blue is gorgeous." She smiled, "Well, it's a bit pricey because its hand-made." I shook my head, "That shouldn't be a problem." The girl opened the door, "Then come on in and try it on before you make a finally decision."

Looking in the mirror, the dress looked glorious on me. The lower bodice and skirt was made of delicate deep blue silk. It hugged my hips as I walked perfectly. The upper bodice clung to my body, showing the curves of my chest. It was made of upper bodice was made of folded chiffon. The straps were thickly cut, and crossed along my back. "Here, try these with it." The salesgirl gave me a pair of silver shoes. They went with the dress perfectly. I knew how I wanted to where my hair. Looking at myself in the mirror, it seemed that this dress was made for me. "I'll take it." The salesgirl gave me the price of everything and it was a bit more than I thought. Looking at her with my compulsion, she reduced the price to where I was willing to spend. Leaving the shop, I headed to a secluded alley. It was darker enough for me to begin running. I ran so quickly, I passed the cars in the streets without much attention. I made it back to my house by noon. I could have taken public transportation, but that would have taken too long. I put the dress and shoes away. Shopping for my dress made my excitement only grow.

While reading, an errant thought hit me. What if he saw me and was unhappy with what I became? Edward wanted me to stay human. Would he be unhappy to see me this way? Would he have rather I stayed away and let him remember me as a human? I thought about Carlisle and Jasper's conversation. Edward recently returned home. How long was he away? He left me over a year ago, but how much of that year did he spend with his family? This was becoming painful to think about. What if Edward wouldn't like me like this? What if he preferred me weaker than him? As someone he could protect? But then, me being this way, it would make things easier. He wouldn't have to be so focused on not killing me. Going to my closet, I took out my blue blouse. The one that was his favorite. It was what I wore the night he saved me in Port Angeles. Holding the blouse, I laid on my bed and thought about him. My memories of Edward were murky, but I didn't forget him.

I thought about how his skin glowed in the meadow. The way his skin felt under my fingertips. How the texture was strong and smooth. The way his lips were on mine. My lips molded to his so easily. The bronze color of his hair. When they were pure honey, they were the most beautiful. I remembered listening to the air come and go in his chest as we lay in my small bed. The times we sat together on the leather couch in his bedroom and I would fall sleep in his arms.

Sitting up, I saw the sun was down. It was time for me to get ready. First, I curled my hair, then pinned my tight curls back. My hair was held with blue clips, which matched the dress. My hair fell over the straps of my dress. I wore a silver charm necklace my mother gave me for my last birthday. I tried to hold on the happiness I felt from this morning. Doubt was starting to creep into my mind. He wouldn't want to see me. Pulling up to the Clinton House, I gave my name and entered the hall. The room was crowed with people. Couples were twirling on the dance floor as I walked on the linoleum floor, which was decoratively designed over an indoor water feature. On the dance floor, I recognized the three graceful couples. Their skin as pale as I remembered them. With my new eyes, I really saw how beautiful they really are. My eyes wondered until they fell on the man I was searching for.


	11. How Did This Happen?

Chapter 11 – How Did This Happen?

Alice was putting the finishing touches on my tuxedo. She was tying my tie into the perfect knot. She tried to keep her mind quite, but some things were getting through. "Perfect." "Thanks." My voice was flat and lifeless. Picking up my jacket, I saw the image Alice tried to hide. The last time I was in a tuxedo, with my dark-haired beauty. She never looked more beautiful than the night we went to the prom. The color of her cheeks when she blushed, the way her blue dress complemented her skin and how her hair fell down her shoulders. Above all, her sweet, irresistible scent and the beautiful thrum of her heart. No other scent I have ever encountered was so sweet or strong. _Alice, you going to make me break my other leg in this shoe_. Alice let a memory slip. Another came through of Alice and Bella coming down the stairs of our house, hand in hand. My eyes closed, as I fell forward. Catching myself with my hands on the low dresser, my head fell. Bella's smile in Alice's memory was breath-taking. My fingers dug into the dresser, leaving imprints in the wood. _Edward, I could…?_ I shook my head. Alice hasn't had a vision of Bella in months. It would be too painful. Since I came home, I tried to be strong, but it was hard. Being the only single person in a household of couples was not helping. Before Bella, that never bothered me, but now, it was almost unbearable.

I have a small surprise for you. I looked at her. She dashed out of the room and was back before the door settled into the frame. She held out a picture frame. Taking the frame into my hands, I saw the brown eyes I yearned for. It was a picture of me and Bella on her birthday. My hands trembled and the frame slipped out of my hands. Alice caught it and placed it on my dresser, _She emailed me the pictures she took the day after her birthday_. Bella was smiling up at me and my hand was wound around her waist. Her smile was so bright and her eyes were so loving as she looked at me. I shook my head, trying to dispel the permanent feeling of misery.

Putting on my jacket, I heard more thoughts from my family. _Esme looks so beautiful. She deserves this night. She worked so hard on this benefit_. My father was admiring his wife. Emmett was leering at Rosalie and I tried to tune him out. This was getting harder and I couldn't bare it. _No, you don't, Edward. You're home now and Esme worked very hard on this project. You're going_. I looked up into the mirror and Alice was standing behind me. Her hands were on her hips and she was tapping her foot. Rolling my eyes, I nodded. She took my arm and we walked downstairs. All eyes fell on me. _This is getting out of hand. He even won't even go back to the way things were before he met her. I knew she was bad for him_. Rosalie was completely wrong. Bella was perfect for me, but I was wrong for her._ Please, dear, can you try to enjoy tonight?_ Esme pleaded with me. She was hurt the most when I left. I feigned a smile. I would try, for her sake. "All right, everyone, let's go." Everyone listened to Carlisle and went for the garage. Esme held my hand as we all left. I got into my Volvo, so that I could be alone for a while. Esme watched me closely. I hated what I was doing to her. I would try, but it's hard.

At the benefit, everyone was congratulating Esme and her partners on her wonderful work. The party continued, but I hardly noticed. This atmosphere was difficult to bare. This would be something I would have brought Bella to. She would have appreciated the art work and the historical significance. She would have loved the architecture of the building. More guests arrived and filled the room. My head became overcrowded, hearing all the thoughts of the guests. _This painting is beautiful_… _I love this one_… _Marvelous_. I tried to tune them all out. On the dance floor, my family was the center of attention. _They move so beautifully_…. _The ladies are so lovely_… _Look at her!_ A gentleman was taken with another guest who entered the building. I caught a glimpse of blue silk and dark hair.

I continued to watch my family as they danced, wishing I could join them. Wishing I had the one I loved to in my arms, moving gracefully to the music. Alice looked at me and smiled, _You have the next one_. I smiled at my sister, a genuine smile. Alice made it her personal mission to see me happy again. I should try to make it easier for her. Jasper whirled Alice around the floor, _Bella_. I looked at Alice, who was stopped on the dance floor. Jasper's eyes were wide, "She looks exactly like Bella." I looked to the doorway and saw her. The dark haired woman in the blue silk dress. "Bella?" Esme asked, astonished. Carlisle looked to me, _Could it really be her?_ The girl looked at me and the corner of her lips came up in a small smile. She came over to my direction and I walked towards her. I moved a bit quicker than I'm supposed to, but I didn't care. Was this really my Bella?. Soon, she was standing in front of me, "Hello Edward." My lips parted, "Bella?" I whispered. She smiled brightly, "Yes." My eyes pricked as I took in her perfect face. She reached out her hand and I took it, feeling her smooth skin. Without hesitation, I pulled her into my body and pressed my lips to hers. They were the same, sweet and soft lips I have missed. Her body was pressed into mine again and her hand was on my chest. My arm wound around her body, holding her closer. For months, the image of her haunted me. But, this wasn't a hallucination. Bella was in my arms again.

She giggled under our kiss. A smile, a true and genuine smile was on my face as I held her closer and whirled her on the dance floor. It was her. It was my Bella. She was here, where she belonged. Her scent filled my nostrils and there was a difference to it. It was off, but only slightly. There were a few differences about her. Her hair was longer and darker. The streaks of red in her hair were more dominant. They shone in the lights. Her skin was slightly paler, but there was more color to her cheeks. Also, she moved so fluently as we danced. She didn't trust her own feet before, but now, she was almost flying. "What are you staring at?" she asked, a smile still on her lips. I held her closer, pressing her body into mine, once again, "What are you doing here?" She moved her head to the side, "I was invited." "Bella," her name was like honey on my lips, "only students were invited." She closed her eyes slowly, then opened them, "I _am_ a student. I transferred to Cornell a few weeks ago." Before I could ask another question, we were about to be interrupted. Bella's smile grew, as she looked back, "Alice!" Bella hugged Alice, her hair brushing my hand. It was softer than silk. Bella and Alice were best friends and attune to each other. But still, how did Bella know Alice was right behind her? _It is her_, Emmett beamed, _I don't believe this_. When she turned back, I held Bella closely, trying to make sure she was really here and she was. The song ended and we walked to the floor's edge. With her hand held tightly in mine, I felt her skin was not as soft as it was before. And her grip, it was tighter, "Edward, there's something I need to tell you." I looked at her. There was a slight change in her eyes. They looked darker as she looked at me. Before I could answer her, we were interrupted again, this time by Esme. She wrapped her arms tightly around Bella, "Oh, Bella, honey, I've missed you so much." Bella smiled, hugging Esme back. For the briefest moment, the skin of Bella's neck tighten during their embrace. Esme let her go and then Emmett scooped her up in a big hug, followed by Carlisle.

Before anyone else in my family could speak to her, I selfishly whirled Bella back on the dance floor. I needed her to myself. Alice glared at me, "Edward!" "Alice, leave them alone," Carlisle warned, "He needs his time with her." I was never more thankful for my father than I was tonight. The rest of them danced, but they were away from me and Bella. Bella and I danced silently and I couldn't take my eyes off her. Her eyes were the same deep pools of warm milk chocolate. That was strange. A moment ago, they were darker, almost black. She smiled again as she leaned her head on my shoulder, cutting her eyes out of my view. I placed a light kiss on her forehead. Holding her closer, I noticed something else was off. Something was missing. I didn't notice before, but it was something important. When I held her close before, her heart would beat wildly. It was my favorite sound in the world and it wasn't there. Was this really Bella? In my arms, her body stiffened. "What's the matter?" Bella stepped away from me and covered her eyes. She was gasping, as her hands balled into fists against her eyes. We were at the edge of the dance floor, near the opened doors to the terrace. Taking her shoulders, I tried to make her look at me, "Bella?" She looked up and her face was different.

Her eyes were pitch black and dark veins pulsated around her eyes. Her teeth were bared and they looked sharp, like a serrated knife. She exhaled deeply and the veins disappeared. Her lips closed, covering her teeth. The veins were like dark snakes as they shrunk back into her skin and her eyes were brown again. Her lips trembled as she mashed them into a hard line, "I have to go." She half-ran pass me and I watched after her. Jasper was instantly at my side, "Is everything alright?" Shaking my head, I couldn't dispel the image I just saw, "I think she's sick." Carlisle patted my shoulder, "I'll go find her." "No, I will." "I'm coming with you," Emmett offered. "Look, if she's sick, let Carlisle check her." Rosalie's harsh tongue wasn't enough to distract me from checking on Bella. Jasper went with us and we were outside, following after her. Following her trail, Emmett found Bella heading to a black truck in the parking lot. She was walking quickly, brushing her hand across her head, "How could I be so stupid?" She was moving faster than she ever did before. Emmett was ready to call as she turned back to face us. Her face was sad and her eyes were wide, "Please," she whispered, "for now…. leave me alone. I will explain everything later." Ignoring her, I walked towards her. She stepped away from the truck and her back was to the tree. Before reaching her, someone grabbed Bella from behind and had a knife at her throat. Her body stiffened and her eyes widened. "Back off," the mugger threatened. His arm was tight around her waist and he had the knife pressed into the skin of her neck. I did what he said and stopped Jasper and Emmett. The three of us stood our ground away from them.

The mugger smirked, "Smart, I thought they would do anything to protect you." A deep growl was coming from over where the mugger was holding Bella hostage. She was looking upward and the veins from her eyes were returning, "Now, that's your first mistake," she was lowering her face slowly, for us to see, "in thinking, I need them to protect me." Her eyes were black again and she bared her teeth. Moving faster than I've ever seen her, she threw the mugger's arms off, held his head and she lowered her teeth to his neck. I could hear the tearing of flesh and smell the blood. The mugger's body fell to the ground. His screams were nothing but gurgles as his eyes closed. Bella stood over him, with her lips and teeth stained with his blood. Her eyes were half-crazed as she dropped down and bit him again. My eyes widened, as I watched. I could hear the pull of the blood from the mugger's body. From her prey, Bella's eyes looked up and they were pale blue. Emmett backed away and Jasper gasped. I stood my ground, in shock, watching Bella drain the life from this man.


	12. Friends Again

Chapter 12 – Friends Again

I begged them to leave me alone. My control was slipping. I was happy to be with Edward again, but I could smell the blood in him. I smelled the blood in Alice and Esme as well. The room was packed with humans and that was the worse place for me to lose control. I felt the warning signs coming, but it was too late. Edward saw them. I escaped as soon as I could, but they were already on my trail. Before I could get in my car, a stupid human made the biggest mistake of his life. He tried to hold me hostage and used me as a human shield to keep the Cullens away. He thought he was being smart, using me to protect himself. I could hear his heart beating, hear the flow of the luscious blood in his veins and the scent of it made it irresistible. He smelled like fresh rain. He reminded me of Forks and the monster inside was starved. The veins from my eyes were more predominant and I was ready to strike. Ignoring my audience, I threw him off me and my teeth sank into his flesh. The monster within purred was its appetite was being satisfied.

The human's body fell to the ground. I tried to walk away, but the blood was a stronger call. It welled up from his wound and I couldn't resist. Right now, I wasn't Bella. I was a hunter, a predator taking down my prey. The human's heartbeat was getting weaker. I could taste it in his blood. This was more than familiar. I had to find my control. I looked up and saw the shocked expressions of the immortal faces that were looking at me. That helped. I pulled my teeth back from the human and straightened up. Some of the blood was still on my lips. I took the blood in and exhaled. Looking at the Cullens, I was ashamed. I knew I had great control, but I lost it. I was kicking myself for not hunting today before the event. The human groaned and all of us looked down. "What happened?" Carlisle and the others saw the scene. I knelt down, next to the human. His heartbeat was weak, but he could be saved. I didn't allow my venom to flow into his body. I applied pressure to the wound, "Carlisle, please help me. He could still be saved."

Carlisle walked passed his sons, who were all still statutes. "Bella, what happened?" Carlisle's hand replaced mine. I was too ashamed to admit it, but how could I hide the truth. I had an audience after all, "I bit him." Carlisle looked up at me, "You what?" My lip trembled, "I bit him." The human groaned. Carlisle made a temporary bandage on the wound. The human looked up at me and weakly screamed. My eyes widened. I held his head down and looked into his eyes, "You won't remember what happened. You tried to kill yourself, but you stopped. That's what you're going to tell people if they ask. Ok?" His glance was dazed, but he nodded once, before passing out. I took the human into my arms and stood, "I'll take him to the hospital." Carlisle's eyes widened, "Bella, how are you able to….?" I shook my head, "Not now. I have to save him!"

With the human in my arms, I held my breath and ran north. I went on the other side of Cayuga Lake and headed north. I was in Aurora, when I found a hospital. It was a late hour and hardly anyone was outside. On a bench outside the hospital, I laid my mugger down and left him. Running south, I tried to find a park for me to hunt. I needed animal's blood in me, to help my control and aid my thirst. While running, I heard others coming behind me. "Bella!" Edward wasn't far behind me, but I couldn't face him. Others were with him and they were catching up. Soon, Edward was by my side, "Bella!" Looking to my other side, Emmett and Jasper weren't far behind. "Bella, stop! We need to talk." Looking side to side, I had to get away. I pushed myself further, pushing to my limits and I sprinted ahead of them. Edward was picking up speed, but he couldn't reach me. We were nearing the lake. "Bella!" Without looking back, I leapt over the lake and landed on my feet on the other side. I stood in shock. I wasn't aware I could do that. Away from the Cullens, I hunted. I took down easy prey, because I was still in my gown. After taking down a few deer, I ran back to the gala.

When I reached my car, I felt more comfortable facing the Cullens. I didn't know how many were pursuing me, so I went inside. I wanted as many people around to act as a buffer to their questions. As I entered, the song changed into a tango. "Let's go." I looked up and Emmett was at my side. "Em?" He took my "Come on, Bella." Whirling me to face him, Emmett guided me in the tango. "What is going on with you?" "Nothing." Emmett dipped me, "Bella, you were drinking a man's blood." I rolled my eyes, "Fine, what do you want to know?" "Well?" "But first," I interjected, "I _am_ a vampire, just not one like you." He looked at me, "What do you mean?" "I'm a Daywalker." We passed Carlisle and Esme. "Aro said the Daywalkers were killed." "So he thought. My ancestor, Darius, he knew Aro. Aro thought he killed them off, but Darius was smart. He diluted the bloodline. I was born this way." Emmett spun me, "But you were human." I sighed, "I have a theory." "I'm anxious to hear it," Edward was close by, dancing with Alice. "James." Emmett looked at me, "James?" "It was his venom that triggered the change. Edward took it all out, but it was too late. The gene recognized the venom and grew from it, becoming dominant. If you think about you, you witnessed some of the change. Carlisle said he was surprised on how quickly my leg healed."

Emmett whirled me, locking our bodies into a position, "So explain the eyes? One minute, they were black, then pale blue and now, they're back to brown again." "Like you, when I'm thirsty, they're black. When I'm feeding, they're blue and they go back to brown because my eyes were brown as a human. Daywalkers are more human than your kind, but we're also stronger." The song ended and the guests were applauding. I looked around and saw Emmett and I were in the center of the circle. Another thing that surprised me about what I was capable of. He and I had an entire conversation on what I was, while dancing flawlessly. Emmett and I walked through the back door to the garden, "So, how did this change finally set in?" I stepped away from him and pinched my eyes closed, "I can't talk about that right now." Esme stood with me, "Bella?" I looked at her as a tear fell, "I have to go. Can we talk about this tomorrow?" My resolve was slipping and she saw it. She put her hand up, her palm facing behind us, stopping someone's advance, "Of course."

I stepped away and sighed, "Ok, Alice, come with me, so you can get all the details." She looked at me, "How did you know?" I smiled, "Because I know you. And you look like you're going to explode." Alice beamed, "Ok." She got in my car, "What happened to your old truck?" I laughed, "Got rid of it. It wasn't fast enough." Alice's trilling laugh filled the car. I giggled myself. "Alice, I have missed you so much." Her small arms fell around my neck and her cheek pressed into mine, "I missed you too." I pulled up in front of my house and she beamed, "You're not that far from us." Getting out the car, Alice danced by my side, "By the way, where did you get your dress and who did your hair? You look amazing." I opened the door and turned on the lights, "I found the dress myself in the city and did my own hair." She hugged me again, pulling me down to her height, "You're growing up." I pushed her off, "Come on, Alice. It's not like I had you around. I had to learn to do it myself."

We sat on the couch and she got serious, "Ok, Bella, what happened?" I looked down, "Ok." I told her everything, from Laurent and Victoria, to the wolves and Jacob, to the changes in my senses. I told her about me hearing Lauren's remarks when no one else did. I told her how I was able to make Lauren be a genuinely nice person. I left out of the part about Charlie. On that part, I had to lie. I wasn't ready to face that truth. I told her I came across another vampire and he tried to kill me. Instead, I killed him. Her eyes widened, "You drank the blood from the vampire?" I grimaced, "Yes. That was a complete shock to me too." "So what else is there, Bella?" I looked down, "Come with me tomorrow. I could show you the information I got from the school archives." She looked at me, "What time?" "In the morning." Alice smacked my leg, "Bella, you know I can't do that." She looked away, then back to me, "Can you?" My head fell to the side, "Alice, Daywalker, remember?" I gestured to myself with my index finger. Her eyes slightly widened, "You can really walk in the sun?" I nodded, "Ok, come with me tomorrow. Its going to be raining really hard." She balked, "How'd you know? Even the weather said it was going to be sunny." I laughed once, "I can smell. I can feel it."

Alice and I fell back into our old habit of just talking. She told me about finding out about her human life. It disgusted me that her family would put her away in an asylum, because they didn't understand what she could do. I told her about my relationship with Jacob and making Lauren nice, again. "How can you do that? I saw you do it to the mugger. What is that?" "I call it 'compelling.' Because, basically, I look at them and compel them to do whatever I want them to, even forget what I want them to." She smiled, "Now, that is something I would like to do." Alice and I sat on my couch for hours. The thunder rolled in the distance and she smiled, "Wow. This is really great. Don't get me wrong, I liked you human, but its fun that you're one of us now." I leaned closer to him, "Alice, I'm not like you. I'm stronger and faster." Her eyes narrowed, "Fine, Bella." She smiled and I couldn't fight mine. I really did miss Alice.


	13. Curiosities

Chapter 13 – Curiosities

Alice never left. She insisted on seeing my closet and was impressed. "Bella, not only are you stronger, you also have better taste in fashion." I nudged her shoulder, "Oh, stop it." She and I were dressed and off to campus. "Carlisle says he loves teaching. He loves helping young people learn new things. He said he may do it again when we move." I giggled, "I know. I sat in on one of his lectures. I recognized Emmett and Rosalie in the class." "Hey Bella!" I looked to my side, "Hey Deb!" I answered, waving to one of my new friends. Alice smiled, "It's good to see you that you were making friends." She was right. I was starting my life over here. Being here, I'm really happy I moved out of Forks. In the library, I showed Alice the books on the legends. She read all of them herself and was just as fascinated as I was. "This is really amazing. Can I call Carlisle?" "Of…" Dr. Perry came in the room, "Bella, who is this?" Alice smiled, "Hello, Dr. Perry. I'm Alice Cullen, well, Alice Hale. I'm Dr. Cullen's daughter." Dr. Perry stared at her, "Lovely to meet you." He looked at me, "I'm sorry, Dr. Perry, but I was telling Alice about the legends and she was interested." His mouth pressed into a hard line. His body stiffened a bit as Alice walked passed him. Stepping closer to him, I looked into his eyes, "Dr. Perry, Alice can see the books. She's going to talk to Dr. Cullen and if he and his family want to see them, it's allowed. Is that all right with you?" He stared back, "It's all right." I smiled, "Goodbye now." He blinked, "Lovely to meet you, Alice. See you in class, Ms. Swan." I watched Dr. Perry walk away and Alice laughed, "That's really amazing." She dialed her phone, "Carlisle, we're on campus. Come to the archives. She found a lot of information." "But, I've heard that Dr. Perry…." She smiled and winked at me, "Don't worry, Bella took care of it." She hung up her phone and kept reading.

"I can't believe Aro was a slave. It explains so much on why he loves power." I huffed, "Being, that he was once powerless." The front door of the library opened and I heard the quiet footsteps, but there were more than one. Alice sighed and I sat with her, "He couldn't stay away could he?" She and I giggled until Carlisle, Edward and Jasper came into the room. My hands flew to my mouth and Alice did the same thing. Edward looked between us, "What is so funny?" Alice hid her face in my neck and I stifled a laugh, "Nothing." Carlisle took in mine and Alice's smiles and he laughed once, "What did you find out?" Alice showed him all the information I found. Edward and Jasper sat and read. Alice stood by Jasper and he held her waist. Knowing Edward's true feelings about me, I felt comfortable standing beside him. I felt awful that I ran away from him last night. I was just so ashamed of what I did and I knew facing him, I would have to face that shame right then and there. His hand crept up to my waist and I was pulled down into his lap. "Don't you ever run away from me again," he whispered into my ear. "Sorry." His arms kept me close, against his chest as he read. "This is fascinating. It says Daywalkers have their own blood." Carlisle looked up at me. Turning my hand inward, I bit down on my wrist and showed my blood dripping from the wound. The tendons of my skin came together and the wound was healed. Carlisle's eyes widened, "That is amazing."

Jasper looked at me, "Can you make Daywalkers yourself?" I nodded, "Actually I found that information from a professor at Peninsula Community College, Prof. McCallister. Actually, Carlisle, you know the painting you have of yourself, with Aro, Caius and Marcus from the 1700s?" He nodded, "Prof. McCallister has a copy of it and he knew your name. He said you were Aro's confidant." Carlisle exhaled, "He knew me." I made a face, "Yes, but I took care of that too. I 'persuaded' him to never mention you again." Carlisle patted my hand that was on the table, "Thank you." "Well, Prof. McCallister told me to make the change, blood is the key. For humans, they would need to ingest my blood, then be bitten. And, to complete the change, they would need to hunt for themselves. But, for a regular vampire," Edward scoffed at the term, "they just need to have blood in their bodies. I think that is so, because when they are changing, the blood that they fed on is changed into their own and they add on to it while they hunt." Carlisle blinked several times, "So, a human told you this? So much for keeping the secrets." I huffed, "Yea. And he believed in all of it. Dr. Perry believes it all a legend, but Prof. McCallister, he wants to be a Daywalker. He said that he is a descendent of Aro, from his human family. After compelling him, he told me everything he knew and it all fit. Darius is my ancestor, but I'm not going to avenge him. I have no reason to attack the Volturi."

"Bella, I am curious about another factor," Carlisle looked at me, "the blood? How does it affect your body?" "The same as it does for yours. But with me, it's a bit different." I looked away, then laughed. Edward brushed my hair, "What?" "There is an analogy, but it's a bit funny. Let's say, you're an SUV and I'm a hybrid." Jasper laughed, "So you're saying, your body uses the blood more efficiently than ours does." My lips formed a line, "Pretty much. I told you it was silly, but it was the best I could come up with." "And with your new mind, that's all you got?" My shoulders slumped. Alice elbowed Jasper, "Jas!" I kicked him, "Oww. Ok, that hurt," he complained. Edward chuckled, "Still have a temper."

Carlisle nodded, "So, what were you going to do with your life?" I shrugged, "College for a start. Which honestly, I love." "And after that?" Edward asked. "I don't know yet. Thought I would finish school first, then figure it out." My eyes fell to the ground. I couldn't let them know that Charlie hadn't left me enough to pay for an upscale school like Cornell. Getting out of his hold, I went to the window, "You may want to get out of here. The sun is about to come out." Alice blinked, "How do you do that?" Edward smiled, "Leave her alone, Alice." I looked up at him, then back to her, "Well, I could bite you and you could find out how I do that." Alice gawked at me, "Bite me? Me, be a Daywalker." She looked up at Jasper and Edward looked at her, "Alice, she was kidding." "Was I?" I laughed, "Ok, how about this? You get in your car, come with me and you can see what I look like in sunlight?" Edward smiled, "Now that I do want to see." All of us walked out of the library to the parking lot. Their car was parked next to mine. Walking ahead with Edward, I tested how strong I really was. Gripping his hand, Edward buckled in pain and I pushed him into my back seat, "We have to talk, so stay there."

He was ready to protest, but the sun broke out of the clouds and shone on my skin. "There's barely a difference," Jasper observed, "She could pass among the humans." I smiled, "See you later." I got in the driver's seat and Edward was in passenger's seat, "You are so pushy." I smiled at his quote of what I told him in high school. I drove him to my house and pulled into the garage. "Bella, what is this all about?" I smiled, "Let's talk inside." He was out of the car and opening my door before I could blink, "I could never get used to that." We walked into the house together and I looked up at him, "Ok, this is about what I heard Carlisle and Jasper talking about." His eyebrows furrowed, "What did they say?" Looking Edward in the eye, I backed him into the living room, "You lied to me, for one. You left me alone in Forks because you thought you were too dangerous for me to be with. You broke your promise of never leaving me. And then, they talked about how they were worried about you. That they've never seen you so…. so sad." He exhaled, "I didn't want you to find out like that. Bella, I am so….." I put my hand up, "Edward, just answer one question and we can forget everything." Edward looked at me, "I think I know the question and the answer is 'yes,' I do. I promise I will not do it again."

My head dropped and I smiled. Looking up at him, a growl began to grow in my chest. With my strength, I pushed Edward across the room. I saw his feet leave the ground, then he landed on my couch. Playfully, I pounced him, landed on the couch and it skidded across the room, "Good answer." I clutched at his collar, pulled him up and kissed him. His body stiffened beneath mine, but soon, he relaxed and his hand held my waist.

Edward and I resumed our relationship as if nothing happened. I fell back into my place with the family, like there was no separation. Of course, Emmett wanted to see how strong I really was. To be honest, I wanted to see for myself as well. An opportunity for me to test my real strength never came up. The fight started between me and Emmett, but soon, Jasper was fighting me alongside his brother. Edward thought it was unfair, until he was roped in. At first, he was trying to defend me, but he saw I didn't need any, so he sided with his brothers. "I really don't want to fight three old men." That caused them to charge me at the same time. I slammed Emmett to the ground by grabbing his shoulders, then, with the palms of my hands, I pushed Jasper and Edward into two twin trees with such force that the trees fell. "Never lose focus." They looked at each other, then to me. I was getting a bit smug, "You asked for it." Edward submitted, Jasper bowed out and Emmett demanded a rematch.

Carlisle told the others about what they read and what I told them. Carlisle spoke to me in private about it. "Aro told me about the Daywalkers. He said they needed to be destroyed." "Really," I asked in a huff, "we _needed_ to be destroyed. You know, he wanted to be one. He regretted killing them off." Carlisle folded his arms, "Yes, Aro loves power and the Daywalkers are very powerful." "And Aro wanted to be one of the strongest beings there is. Not the second strongest." Carlisle looked at me, "Precisely. But what I find fascinating is your ability to have children. As vampires, we are frozen." "Never changing," I interjected. "Right, and there is your kind. You can bear a child." I blinked, "Well, now that brings up a question. I know you are frozen, so woman cannot have children. Their body needs to change in order to do that, but what about the men? If they were with a woman, a human woman, do you think a child can be made?" Carlisle looked at me, then away to the sky, "I wonder… I wonder if that is possible. I wonder if one of our kind is cautious enough to have a physical relationship with a human and leave her alive. Could a child come from that union?"

Carlisle stood silently, thinking. "Maybe, we would have found out if Edward had chosen to stay and you were still human." I looked up at him, "Me….? Edward? Do you think so?" Carlisle smiled, "It's possible. You changed him so much. I honestly believe, over time, he would have asked for your hand in marriage." I exhaled, "Marry…. me?" "Bella, Edward may be immortal, but his morals are from the early 20th century. When a young man finds a woman he cares for, even comes to love, he would court her," I giggled at the word, "Ask her father's permission to propose. During their engagement, they have chaperoned walks together?" "Chaperoned?" He smiled, "Back then, rules of etiquette were much stricter. Kissing wasn't even condoned. They had to be stolen." I smiled, "That's actually really sweet." Carlisle smiled, "But, that is something we will never know. I do wonder what a half-human, half-vampire child would be like?" While Carlisle thought about that mystery, I thought about what it would be like if Edward and I have a child. After a long moment, Carlisle said good night and went home. I sat alone, thinking about having Edward's child. Bringing me out of me reverie, there was a knock on the door. Opening the door, I was surprised to see my guest, "Rosalie."


	14. Shocked

Chapter 14 – Shocked

"Rosalie, what are you doing here?" She made a feeble attempt of a smile, "Can I come in? I'd like to talk to you about something?" I gestured for her to enter, "Come on in." This was unusual. Rosalie has never even spoken to me directly and now, she wants to talk to me. Rosalie sat on my couch, but I sat away from her on the armchair, "What did you want to talk about?" She looked at me, "This isn't easy, but Bella, I want to be a Daywalker. Will you change me?" I closed my eyes and shook my head slightly, "I'm sorry. What?" She reached to placed her hand on mine, "I want to be a Daywalker. Bella, I want to be like you." I blinked, "Why?" She sighed and her face crumpled. "Don't get me wrong, I'll do it, but I am very curious to why you want to be a Daywalker." She stood up, in exasperation and gestured with her hands, "Because I want to walk in the sun. I want to live in different parts of the world and, for the places I've been, I want to see them in the sunlight. I want my skin to have the subtle glow, that people won't that know I'm not human. I want to have so much better control of my body and impulses." She ran her finger through her hair. "Rosalie, there's something else, isn't there?" I've never seen Rosalie nervous. She never strayed from the bravado she always displaced. She looked at me, "Yes." I waited in silence for her to explain. "I want to have a baby," she confessed.

"Rosalie." She sat down, "Bella, it's all I want. I want my own pretty baby. Honestly, that's part of the reason why I was so angry when Edward brought you home. Firstly, because he was letting a human know about our secret and then, finding out you wanted to be one of us. To give up everything you have, to be frozen and never moving forward. To be cold and hard. I thought you have a choice and you were choosing wrong. You have no idea how much I envied you, Bella." I blinked, "That's ridiculous." "No, it's not," she snapped. Her voice was heavy with emotion. "You had everything and you were going to give it up, without a second thought. Without weighing all on the consequences of the choice you were making." I was blinking wildly, "Rosalie, I was ready. It was what I wanted." Rosalie shook her head, "Bella, did you know I was your age when I was changed? I didn't have choice. Bella, this is what I wanted for so many years. Esme is made do with us as her children, but for me…." She fumbled to find her words, "Things got better once I found Emmett, but I would love to have Emmett's baby." I placed my other hand on hers, "Have you talked to him about this?" She grimaced. "You didn't? Rosalie, now that's unfair. This involves him too. Being changed, having a baby. These are life-changing things and you didn't talk to your husband?" I was starting to feel sick, "Ok, Rosalie, I can appreciate you being honest with me and explaining your feelings on mine and Edward's relationship. I really do, but," I put my hands up, as if in surrender, "but I will not change you, not until I know Emmett is fine with this." She got defensive, "Why not?" "Because you are his wife! He has every right to know what you really want and what you want to do. Now, being changed isn't something he can give you, but once you are, and he thinks that's okay, then will he be willing to have a child with you? These are things you should think about."

Rosalie sat there, like a statue. She leaned forward, placing her elbows on her legs and she covered her face with her hands. Her breath hitched and her teeth quietly chattered. Her eyes pinched shut and her shoulders trembled. Moving to sit on the couch and taking her shoulders, Rosalie tearlessly sobbed into my neck. Her sobs were broken as she tried to speak, "You're right. You're absolutely right. I'm so selfish. It's just, I've wanted this for so long." "And being so close to get, you forget everything else," I offered. She nodded her head against my shoulder. "It's so close I can almost taste it. But Bella," she looked up at me, "if Emmett is all right with all this?" "Then I will do it as soon as you would like. And, knowing Emmett, he wouldn't deny you this." She rubbed her eye, "I think so, too." Rosalie smiled another feeble smile, "Thank you, Bella. I've never done anything that could deserve your kindness, but…." I held up my hand, "I know, Rosalie. I'm happy to help you. Besides, it will help with you hating me a little less." She laughed. "But remember, I will not do it, unless Emmett is okay with it."

After Rosalie left, I continued to think about having my own pretty baby. A baby with Edward's human green eyes, but it had my curly hair. My mind was so focused on that, but I picked up someone's arrival. I couldn't fight my smile or rolling my eyes, as Edward opened my front door. "You know, you could knock." He sat with me on the couch, "I never needed to before." I chuckled, "True." He twirled one of my curls between his fingers, "What do you want to do tonight?" "I have to study." He lend closer to me, "And after that hour is over?" I giggled, "Whatever you want." His breath blew into my face, "I don't know what I was thinking. I never should have left you." The corner of my mouth twitched, "You thought you were doing the right thing. You thought you were keeping me safe." Edward's hand held the back of my neck, "I should have known better. If we were together, James wouldn't have hurt you. If I was there, Laurent wouldn't have been a threat and Victoria would have not been terrorizing you for so long." I arched my eyebrow momentarily, "Well, on the second two, I agree. But with James, I'm glad that happened." He looked at me, peculiarly, "Why?"

I gestured to my body, "Then I wouldn't be this. If anything, I would have liked it better if you had changed me, but what's done is done. Stop fretting about the past and let's focus on the future." He pulled my face closer to kiss me. His body was hard against mine, as he lend me back on the couch, "You're right. I have you now and that's all that matters." I smiled, "That sounds about right." Edward's lips found mine again. My senses were never so alive before this moment. There was so much my body wanted, that it was confusing. I had to make my mind focus. Squeezing my eyes, I was able to gather my thoughts and urges. Exhaling, my mind was making better sense. Edward's lips were still stronger on mine and his arms held me to his body. I wondered if he experienced what I just did? The mind confusion, the drives that would have made him loss control. Did Edward have to endure that every day of our relationship when I was human?

His kisses slowed, until he pulled back to look at me, "Sorry. You should start studying." A coy smiled played at my lips, "Thank you. I don't know how much more of that I could take." "I know how much more I could," he chuckled. Sitting up, my mind was focused once again. I dwelled the overpowering feelings I was just faced with. One of the feelings was to bite him. I wanted to sink my teeth into Edward's neck and drink the blood from his body. Another wanted to have him. Taking up my book, I began reading. I felt his eyes on me, but it wasn't enough to distract me. Edward always stared at me. When I was human, I tried not to blush but it was hard. Feeling his eyes, something warm was coming over my face. I blinked slowly, as I felt the warmth under my skin. Edward's finders grazed my cheekbone down to my chin, "I've missed that so much." He continued to stare, while caressing my face. My eyes closed as I leaned into his touch. "How are you able to still do that?" "Remember, I have my own blood." He nodded, taking my face in both of his hands, "That's still incredible." I laughed once, taking my face from his hands, "I guess as a Daywalker, I retained my human blood, changing it into vampire blood." Edward pulled me into his chest, "I wonder how the change would be for us." I sighed contentedly, "You may find out soon enough."

He looked down at me, "What do you mean?" I looked up, "Rosalie. She asked me to change her." Edward stared me, "Why?" We stared at each other, "Why did you leave me?" I could see the sadness in his eyes. Neither of us wanted to think about that period of our lives. "I wanted you to have a normal human life." While he answered, Edward tightened his hold on me. "What did you want me to have?" Edward brushed my cheek with his chin, "A long, happy life. To find a husband. A thing I wasn't entirely happy about, but I wanted that for you." I couldn't fight my smile, "Ok, what else?" "I wanted you to have your own family."

He blinked, "Of course. Rosalie wants to have a child." "Yes. To be honest, I have no problem changing her, but I wanted her to speak to Emmett first." He stared down at me and scoffed, "She didn't speak to Emmett first? That is so typically…. Rosalie." I pushed away from him, "Leave her alone. I was just as surprised, but I don't entirely blame her." "Why?" he asked in a surprised voice. "Edward," I leaned my head on his shoulder, "She's wanted the chance to have a baby since she was human. Then she was changed and had to live with the fact of having a child was impossible. She accepted it, but she wasn't happy about it and you know that. Then she finds out that there is a way for her to have a baby. Of course, she would jump at the chance. It may seem selfish, okay, it was a bit selfish, but it's something she really wants."

Edward and I sat in silence for a while. Then, Edward broke into a beautiful smile and kissed me. He kissed my lips, my neck, my cheek and the tip of my nose, "You are such a kind and loving person. Only you could look pass Rosalie's nature, to see the heart of the matter." I smiled, "Well, when Emmett and Rosalie talk about this, which I don't expect Emmett to deny her, I'm going to change her." Edward sat silently, "Do you think you can handle that?" I shrugged, "All I have to do is bite her. I just can't lose control…. again." I whispered the last word, remembering the first time I lost control. "Bella?" Before I could answer him, the shrill ring of the phone interrupted us, "Be right back."

It was Renee. "Hi, Mom." Renee gushed over the phone about her five year anniversary trip to Miami with Phil. She asked how life in college was. She was happy to hear that I was doing so well. I told her that Carlisle was a teacher at the school and Edward and I had resumed our relationship. "Bella, are you sure about that?" "Mom," I tried soothe, "the reason he ended our relationship because they were moving to L.A. He didn't want me to endure a long distance relationship. Alice told me it was just as bad for him." "Bella, I just don't want to see you like that again." I looked at Edward, who was covering his eyes with his hand. I hated seeing him hating himself for leaving. I went over to him and kissed his hair. "Mom, you don't have to worry about that. He and I are adults now. We can handle things much better now."

Renee asked about my courses. "Bella, when are you going back to Forks?" I closed my eyes, "I don't think I am." "I don't blame you." Of course, Renee would understand why I wouldn't want to go back. Edward looked up at me. I was such a coward. I walked away, knowing he could still hear me. I had to end this conversation, or at least, change the subject. "Mom, I was thinking about coming to see you when school is over." She gushed about all the places she wanted me to see. Soon, Renee had to go. "Bye, Mom." "Bye, Bella. I love you." "I love you too." Hanging up the phone, I stood in the kitchen for a moment before going back into the living room.


	15. Confessions

Chapter 15 – Confessions

Edward was watching the doorway as I came back into sight. He was silent for a moment, "Why aren't you going back to Forks?" My lip was pulled back between my teeth. It felt like sharp knives on satin covered steel. "There's nothing for me there." I knew what he was about to ask me. "What about…" my eyes shut tightly before he could say his name, "Charlie?" I turned away from him, tying to hide my face. "Bella?" I heard him move quickly behind me. "Bella!" Edward tried to turn my body, but he wasn't strong enough. The tears spilled from my eyes. Edward stood in front of me and gasped. "You're crying?" My lips trembled. He pulled me into his chest, "Bella, what is it?" "Charlie," I murmured, "he's gone." My voice broke. His body stiffened, then he hugged me tighter to his chest, "What happened?" I broke into a sob that I couldn't control. He swept his arm under legs and sat us on the couch. My arms clung around his neck and I hid my face in the crease of my arm. For a long time, Edward held me while I cried. His arms never loosened from my body. It took me a while to gain my composure, so that I could face him.

"Charlie was killed," I informed him. Edward squeezed me tighter. "That's unbelievable. In Forks?" I sighed, still hiding my face, "He could have survived." Edward shushed me, "Tell me what happened." Another sob came through my clinched teeth, "It was all my fault." Edward brushed my cheek, "Don't say that, Bella." "Edward, it was," I looked at him with a tear stained face. He held my face, "Bella, how could it be your fault?" "Edward," my voice trembled, "I did it! I killed Charlie!" Edward froze. His eyes were glassy as he looked at me. My face crumbled, as he continued to stare. Getting out of his hold, I ran out the house. I ran through the night. More tears fell, but they were blown away by the whipping wind. I was back on campus, where the river ran through it. There was an old structure in a small ravine. I thought back to what Edward told me about Carlisle. That he tried to drown himself when he knew what he was. I wonder if I could drown myself. I deserved to die, for what I did to Charlie. He died, but my mugger lived. It wasn't fair. "Bella!" Edward was coming up fast. I leapt over the small ravine and ran. I couldn't face him. Someone else was coming, from the east, while I ran north. This pursuer's feet were lighter than Edward's. Alice, maybe?

Another was coming from the west and theirs were heavier. Definitely Emmett. Pushing myself further, I ran higher into the mountains. Another set of lighter feet were heading straight for me. I knew I could avoid them all easily. The purser from straight ahead was coming into sight. My running slowed as I ran into her arms. I cried into Esme's neck, like a child in need of their mother. "Shh, it's all right, honey. Tell me what happened." She brushed my hair back and cupped her hands around my face. My tears fell over her hands. Esme held her hand up, her palm faced in my direction, to stop someone behind me. "Edward, give us a minute." I shook my head, "No, it's all right." I brushed the tears away with my fingers, "It's just, I haven't spoken to anyone about this. No one knows what really happened." Esme took my hands in hers, "Then when you're ready, you can tell us." Biting on my lip and nodding my head, "It's time." Edward's hands held my waist and I looked back at him. He didn't speak. Looking for some comfort, I just leaned back on his chest. Emmett threw his arm over Alice's shoulders as they listened.

"I just knew he was in trouble. Something told me to find him, so I went with that instinct. When I found his truck, it was close to the mouth of your driveway. Since you left, I've never gone there, except one time. But I went in, looking for Charlie. I found him, being fed on by a vampire." Alice gasped in horror and her hands covered her mouth. Emmett stared at me in disbelief, Edward growled underneath his breath and Esme closed her eyes, "Then?" "He picked up my scent and dropped Charlie's body. He was going to bite me, but I was so angry. That's when it happened." A growl was growing in my chest. "My hand flew up to his throat and I tightened my grip. He balked and fell to his knees. Something took over me and I bit down on his neck. I drank the blood from his body, and then ripped him apart, piece by piece. Then," I looked down, hiding my face in shame. Esme brushed my cheek, "If you don't want to yet, we'll…" "No," I cut her off, "its fine." Taking a deep breath, I confessed to what I did. "I smelled the blood and I couldn't resist. It smelled like leather and strangely sweet." My teeth chattered, "I could have sucked the venom from his body and taken him to the hospital. But I didn't." Another sob was building and my lip trembled, "I stood up and saw what I had done." My teeth clinched and my fingers clutched at my temple, pulling up my hair, "After I drank the blood, my senses were heightened. But, I panicked. I thought this was impossible. I couldn't face what I had done. I ran to the back of the house and in the glass wall, I saw my face. My eyes were a pale blue."

Alice gasped again, but Esme maintained her serious face, but her eyes betrayed her true emotions. She looked at me with so much sadness. "I closed my eyes and kept telling myself that my eyes were brown. When I opened them, they were brown again." I shook my head in shame. I turned and hid my face in Edward's chest. A soft hand touched my shoulder. I looked back to Esme. I turned to face her and she hugged me. Emmett exhaled, "Bella, I can't believe that happened." Esme released me, then Alice claimed me, "Why didn't I see any of that?" I shrugged, "It doesn't matter anymore. I have to live with the fact that I killed my own father." Edward held me from behind and kissed my hair, "I am so sorry, Bella. I shouldn't have left you." I looked up at him, "Don't. I just wish I could have controlled myself." "Bella, you were a newborn," Emmett stated. My eyes pinched together, "Em, if I never drank his blood, he'd be like you right now. More importantly, he'd be alive. I should have died and he should have lived." Edward's arms tightened, "Please, don't ever say that." Esme nodded, "Please don't. It's terrible that you endured what you did, but please, don't wish that on yourself, Bella."

Esme was right, but I still felt the same way. Alice and I walked back to my house together, while others went hunting. Alice practically had to tear Edward away from me. "Edward, you had the evening and the rest of the night with her. Let me have my time." Emmett's arm was over my shoulders. "Would you two please stop fighting?" "Yeah," Emmett interjected, "maybe I want some time with Bella." My head fell backwards, "Okay! Edward, go hunting. Alice and I will be at my house. Then tomorrow, I'm spending some time with Emmett. And I cannot believe I have to make up a schedule." I laughed once and walked away further into the dark. Alice caught up with me and held my arm. Edward stood in front of me, took my face and kissed me. This kiss was strong. His lips crushed mine, our lips molding to each other. "Bella, you need to stop running away from me. It's painful watching you leave me. I'll be back soon." Alice groaned and he looked down at her, "Knock it off, Alice." Alice stuck her tongue at him.

Alice was bouncing as we walked. "What do you want to know?" She bit her lip, "You said you sensed Charlie was in danger?" I nodded once, "Yes." "How?" I looked down at her, "What do you mean?" "How did you sense it?" That question had me baffled. I never thought about these sensations I had when someone I knew was close. "I don't know. I just knew." There was something else I had to confess. I was just happy it was only Alice with me. "Actually, there's something else I want to tell you?" We were on campus now, running to my house. The campus had few people walking about, so Alice and I weren't noticed. Alice was waiting impatiently. "Besides hearing Jasper and Carlisle talking about the party, I sensed I wasn't the only immortal around here." Alice blinked, "What?" Sitting on the couch, Alice and I sat together as I continued to explain, "One night, I went hunting and I came across an old structure in the woods. There was a distinct scent there and I could tell it wasn't human. Then, right before I saw them, I sensed Carlisle and Jasper. I cannot explain it; I just felt someone of my kind was near." Alice blinked and her eyes were glassy. She was motionless for a long time. I got up and went into the kitchen. I knew I didn't need to but I wanted something normal since my change. I wanted to cook. I started taking things out of the fridge, when Alice finally sighed, "Not even one hour, Edward." I picked up the faint sounds of his approach.

Edward came through the front door, "You didn't distinguish how long I should be away, Alice." I couldn't help laughing. The way they fought was quite funny. I was Edward's girlfriend again and he didn't want to share. I was Alice's best friend and she didn't want to share. Edward came into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around me. Brushing my hair back, he pressed his lips into my neck. I dropped the plate in my hand, reaching my hand up and tangled my fingers in his hair. He spun me around very quickly, which was surprising. I guess Edward held back with his real speed from me, when I was human. His lips were hard on mine and his arms held me tightly. Soon, like always, he broke the kiss. My lips were released, but my body wasn't. Edward tucked my head into his neck, with his chin, "I never should have left you. I was such a fool." His thumb stroked my cheek, as he confessed. "Edward, there's nothing we can do about the past. If there was…." He pulled back and looked at me, "Bella, what happened with Charlie was misfortunate but you cannot keep holding on to that. Like you said, you cannot change the past." A tear fell down my cheek and he kissed it away.

"Bella, please, don't. It wasn't your fault. You didn't know what you were doing." I looked up, through my tear stained lashes, "I didn't know what I was doing?" I stepped away, "Edward, I knew exactly what I was doing. I just couldn't stop myself." He tried to hold me, but I wouldn't let him. "Edward, please don't try to make me feel better for what I did. Nothing is going to make me feel better." He blinked, "Bella, you were a newborn." My eyebrows furrowed, "That's no excuse, Edward! I killed him!" Edward looked at me with such sadness in his eyes. "Bella." I turned away from Edward's gaze. "Bella, please don't upset yourself with this." "Too late," I answered frostily. He sighed, "Why did I leave you?" I sighed, "Maybe if you stayed, Charlie would be alive."


	16. Ready for a Change

Chapter 16 – Ready for a Change

Edward left me alone. I didn't ask him to, but he could tell I wanted to be alone. I have been alone for some time now and it was not uncomfortable for me to be that way. Nothing would, ever could comfort me. I sat, listening to the rain fall on the roof. It was kind of comforting. It reminded me of home. A small smile came on my lips. I thought about what I would be doing right now in Forks. Right now, it was the early hours of the morning, so in Forks with was late at night. I would be lying in my small bed. My smile faltered when I thought about myself screaming in my sleep. Having the same nightmare, night after night. I needed to get my mind off such painful memories. I knew I would have to learn to cope with what I did. Soon, I hope I could put it away forever. I had to think about something else but my mind was filled with painful thoughts. The life leaving Charlie's eyes, the painful expression on Edward's face when he left, it was becoming too much to bare. I never wanted to hurt him. I didn't want to be alone anymore. I had to remove Jacob from my life, because he couldn't know what I was, Charlie was gone forever and now, I may have pushed away the one who loved me the most.

I knew I was damaged, but did I have to destroy everything. I groaned in exasperation. Maybe it would have been better if I never found any of them. I went into my bedroom and laid in my bed. The rain grew louder as it pounded on the roof. Thunder crashed about 5 miles away and it was getting closer. The sound of the rain soothed me. Before, it irritated me. Closing my eyes and listening to the rain, my mind drifted in a dream-like state. I was nearly lost in my mind, when a loud pounding brought me back. I jumped up as the pounding continued. Standing in the hall, I heard the pounding coming from downstairs and it was getting louder. Why was I scared? I was a vampire, the strongest being on earth. The pounding came from the other side of my front door. I braced myself as I opened the door, but I was not prepared for what I saw.

It was Edward, but an Edward I'd never seen before. His eyes were wild and feral looking. He was drenched and shaking, but he seemed to be lit with an inner fire. His hands gripped at each side of the doorframe. Before I could say one word, he grabbed me roughly, hauled my body to his, dashed into the kitchen and pressed me up against the counter. My small mewl of protest was cut off when his mouth descended upon mine, ravaging my lips and shocking me to my very core. One of his hands twisted into my hair, angling my head so that he could gain better access to my mouth. His tongue plunged between my parted lips, tasting me, devouring me as though he could never be satisfied. And he probably never would be; he'd have to spend his whole life feeding his addiction for me and that sounded like a great idea. My arms tighten around his neck and one leg press gently against his thigh. He lifted me up so that I was sitting on the edge of the counter. Then, he had done something he had never done before. Edward parted my legs, pulled me closer and pressed his body against mine even more tightly.

Despite the dizzying sensations, I never forgot that I was kissing my love, my Edward. The one for whom her heart once beat, that my soul ached and my body yearned for. It was like a dream and if my hands weren't so busy, then I might have pinched myself, to make myself believe that it was all real. The assault on my mouth continued and I loved every moment of it. Gradually, our mouths drew apart, gasping for air. Edward continued to kiss my face, my hair, my neck. In between his fervent kisses, he mumbled almost incoherently. "I'm sorry… I couldn't… I had to… I love you so much." "What did you say?" I asked, fearing I was hearing things. Edward looked me straight in the eye and pressed his hands to either side of my face. "I said I love you. I'm sorry if you ever doubted that, but I love you. I'll keep saying it because it seems like such an inadequate way to express what you mean to me. I love you more than anything. More than my own life." "I love you, too," I said, tears forming in my eyes.

"Don't cry, please don't cry." A smile came on my face. Edward stood back, pulling me off the counter. My shirt was stained with the rain from Edward, leaving an imprint of his body. I looked up and Edward had a different smile on his face. A smile I've never seen before. "Edward, what is this? I'm not complaining, but where did this come from?" His hands never released me, "Bella, I need you. After finding out about Charlie, I went to speak with Esme and Carlisle. Esme was shocked and regretted leaving. Alice's mind was practically screaming at me. She called me an idiot for leaving you. And they were right. I should have never left you. I was… _am_ a fool for thinking I could go through the rest of eternity without you. Now we have eternity, so what am I waiting for?" I balked, "What is that supposed to mean?" Edward held my shoulders, "Isabella Swan," he got down on one knee, "I love you. I need you in my life and I cannot exist without you. Will you marry me?" My eyes widened and my breath hitched, blocking my words. "Don't think about what your mother will think. Don't worry about what people will say. Think about right now and the rest of eternity. We have eternity, Bella. We are immortal, but I cannot go another day without calling you mine. Please, Bella, say you'll marry me?" My lips trembled as they formed a smile. He was right. We were apart too long and we needed to be together. I love Edward and my mom would understand. "Yes," was all I could whisper. He stood, wrapped his arm around me and spun me around. His kissed me again and again.

Two weeks went by and a lot of things changed. Emmett and Rosalie talked and they asked to be changed into Daywalkers. Carlisle was anxious to see the transformation. After hunting, Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle, Edward and I were in my living room. "Are you ready?" I asked, concern heavy in my voice. Rosalie nodded and took Emmett's hand, "I am." He looked down at her, then to me, "So am I." I was nervous to bit them, afraid I would simply drain their blood. Emmett volunteered to go first. Stepping away from Rosalie, Emmett stood in front of me, "Ready when you are." I looked at Edward and Carlisle. They promised to get me off Emmett and Rosalie if they saw me losing control. As a Daywalker, I had great control. I was well fed, so I wasn't really concerned. Pulling my lips back and letting my venom coat my teeth, I bit into Emmett's neck. He groaned and I tasted the blood in his body. It wasn't strong enough for me to loss control. I stepped back as Emmett roared in pain. His hands balled into fists as he pounded them into the floor.

Rosalie knelt down by Emmett as he howled, "The burning….!" Carlisle, Edward and Rosalie tried to hold him down, but they weren't strong enough. I placed one hand on his chest and using my strength, Emmett couldn't move. Emmett's body twitched and he groaned, locking his lips together. Before long, Emmett let out a roar that was more animalistic than before. His eyes flew open and I saw the gold leaving his eyes. His eyes were pitch black. The darkness in his eyes drew back to his pupils, leaving his eyes hazel brown. He exhaled deeply and sat up, despite the strength I was using to hold him down. Emmett was motionless, then he turned to smile at Rosalie. She caressed his cheek, "Your eyes? They're hazel again." Emmett held the back of her neck. "Oww, Emmett." He pulled back, "Sorry." Rosalie beamed, "Now me?" I nodded. Moving swiftly, I coated my teeth again and bit Rosalie. She screamed as my venom burned through her body, changing her. I walked away from them. I stood by the front door, staring out to the starry sky. Rosalie was groaning in pain, trying not to scream. Emmett was soothing her through the change and Carlisle watched anxiously.

I was happy that I was able to give Rosalie what she wanted. I turned back to face the living room. Rosalie was standing and Carlisle was checking her and Emmett. Edward looked back at me. Rosalie looked back as well. Her eyes were blue, with a tingle of purple to them. She smiled brightly, "Thank you, Bella." She hugged me, using all her strength. It felt uncomfortable, but I could handle it. "You're welcome, Rosalie. I'm just happy I could help you." Edward took my waist, "How do you two feel?" Rosalie smiled brightly, "The burn in my throat, it's hardly there." Edward stared at the new Daywalker couple, "That is fascinating." He looked down at me, "Their change was more jarring than the change into a vampire, but it was much quicker. From their minds, they seem to have some much more control. Right now, they can smell the blood in all our bodies, but they don't have the urge to attack."

Carlisle questioned them more, while Edward contemplated all he heard in their minds. Edward was silent, as he held me on the porch swing. Only his foot moved, to swing us back and forth. We sat there for a long time. Rosalie, Emmett and Carlisle had left hours ago. While we sat there, my head was on his chest, listening to his breath come and go. The sun was beginning to rise, when he took me in his arms and went into the house. Sitting on the couch, Edward held me and looked into my eyes, "Bella, before we get married, there is something I need you to do?" I blinked. What would he ever want from me? "What is it?" He held my neck, pulling me closer, "I want you to change me into a Daywalker."


	17. All You Have To Do Is Ask

Chapter 17 – All You Have To Do Is Ask

I looked at him, "You want me to change you?" my eyes moved back and forth as I took that in. Before thinking about it, I burst into a loud laughter, which took him by surprise, "What?" I got up, as my body shook with laughter, "I'm sorry. This is just so funny." Edward's expression was confused as he watched. Soon, he broke into a smile, "I see the tables have turned. Now it's me who wants to be what you are." I sat on the couch with him, "Edward, I have no problem doing this for you, but I just want to know why?" His hand held my waist. Edward's gaze was determined as he looked at me, "Like you said, as a Daywalker, you are stronger and hardly have any of our weaknesses. I want to be able to walk in the sun with you. I want to be able to take you anywhere in the world without any restrictions. I want to give you the life you deserve. That was part of the reason I was against changing you before. I didn't want you to endure the restrictions I deal with every day. Bella," he pulled me into his chest, "I saw it in Rosalie and Emmett's minds. They had so much control over their impulses. They wanted to hunt, but they, literally, repressed it." I smiled, "Yeah, I know that feeling. I'm glad I could push away that urge. I should warn them though, don't push away all the time, because it will eventually take over." His fingered brushed my cheek, down under my chin, to tilt it upward and our lips met. "Bella, since I was changed, I have struggled with my control. Then, there was you." He pulled back to look at me, "I love every moment I have with you, but it was a constant struggle. Like I told you our first night together, I had to focus every moment I was with you. From simply meaning to touch you, I could have so easily killed you. In a way, I'm tired of having this monster within me trying to burst out. I want the control you have. Your control rivals Carlisle's and that is what I want."

Edward sighed and his eyes fell from my face, "Bella, I just want one less thing to worry about. I know now, with you, I don't have to control myself, but, the evil being within me still wants to hunt humans. The part of me wants to stalk innocent people. Bella, I cannot go back to that again. What I want from being a Daywalker is better control." I leaned my face into the crook of his neck, "That's understandable. To make something a bit easier in your life." We stayed this way, the only sound was of our breaths coming and going. Edward's arm tightened around me, "What are you thinking?" I smiled and let the veins apparent on my face, "I'm going to change you. I know this is what you want and I want this too." Pulling back, I let him see my face, "When are you ready?" He blinked, "Whenever you are." My lips parted, pulling back from my teeth. Before biting Edward, I wanted one more thing from him. I bit at the skin at the inside of my wrist, letting my blood flow out. He looked at me perplexed. "You need a bit more blood for this to work. So, take some of mine." Edward held my wrist, "Are you sure?" I smiled encouragingly. His teeth sank into my sink and I could fell the pull of my blood out of my body. His teeth were like knives. It wasn't as painful as it was when he bit me to save my life. "Enough," I could feel myself getting weaker. "Edward," my teeth gritted together, "enough!" I pushed him away with one hand and he flew across the room. My wound as taking a long time to heal up, but eventually, it did. Edward was breathing deeply, "You're blood. It's like liquid fire." He laid on his back. I stood over him, "Now that's interesting." He looked up at me, "Bella, you'd better change me now." I raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

He moved so quickly and was standing in front of me. His eyes were wild, "You're blood. It is nothing live I have ever tasted." I smiled, "Once it was the sweetest and now…." He held my face, "It was so… I can't even describe it." I stroked his cheek and pressed my body to his, "Do you want more?" and I tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck. "Bella, don't tempt me." Taking my thumb, I pressed my nail into my skin and more blood flowed out. He gasped, "Bella, don't." "It's not like its going to kill me," I murmured. Edward leaned closer and consumed more of my blood. His arms held me tight to his body. The veins grew on my face. I was getting thirsty. Edward's head snapped back and he roared. Looking back at me, his lips were caked with my blood. My fingers crept up into his hair, pulling him down to kiss me. My other arm held his waist, keeping our bodies together. The blood was smeared on my lips as we pulled apart, smiles on both of our faces. My fingers tightened in his hair, tilted his head to the side and sank my teeth into his neck. My venom made its way into his body, infecting his system. He groaned as I stepped away from him. Doing something I found kind of funny, I took Edward up in my arms and laid him on the couch. "Don't worry. This will be over soon and then, we can go hunting." I held Edward's hand and looked into his eyes while he went through his change.

Edward was thoroughly happy with being a Daywalker. His eyes were green, again. His eyes were olive green and his hair was a bit lighter. When he woke up, he stood so quickly, my eyes almost missed it. His eyes took in everything, but when they fell on me, he broke into a breath-taking smile. His arms were locked around me and his lips crushed mine. In his arms, I couldn't break his hold. Edward was stronger than me again. His lips parted mine and I could taste his warm breath on my tongue. I would miss his cool breath, but from my human senses, I could never really appreciate it. His hands held either side of my face and he smiled, "Bella, this is amazing. Thank you for doing this for me." I smiled, "You're welcome."

After our first hunt, he wanted see how fast he was now. I smiled, "Fine." Edward decided to race me and we ran straight into the mountains, heading north. Cutting across his path, I was heading north-west. Edward was right on my tail and soon he was passing me. I pushed myself and barely saw a glimpse of him, as he pushed himself further. "Come on, Bella." My teeth mashed together, as I pushed myself further, using the true power of my legs. Soon, Edward and I were running side by side. He smiled at me and reached for my hand. Taking it, we slowed down as we reached a town. It was just after dawn and more humans were in the streets. Edward and I walked pass the sign, welcoming us to Rochester. "This is where Rosalie is from." Edward showed me the house they lived in, when Carlisle brought Rosalie home. "I can't believe this is still open." We were standing in front of a bank. It was founded in 1893. "Why is that?" Edward looked at me, "This is where Rosalie killed her fiancée." I looked at him in disbelief, "What?"

Edward told me the story of Rosalie's early days as a vampire. She killed her fiancée because he had beaten her in the streets. "Rosalie doesn't like to talk about it and, knowing I can read minds, she doesn't think about what happened that night. All we know it was Royce King and a few of his friends that left her broken and half-dead in the streets." He stroked my face, "But you know the ending. Rosalie is alive and well to this day." A man was coming down the streets and Edward looked at him. "He's a King. His family owns the bank." I smiled, "Let's see how much he knows." Smiling, the man looked at me and gasped. "Excuse me." Holding his eyes, he stared at me, "What happened in this bank in the 1930's?" "My great, great uncle was murdered here. The mystery was never solved." I smiled, "Ok, thank you. By the way, you won't remember this."

I took Edward's hand and we walked down the street. "How do you do that?" I smiled, "Can't you read my mind?" He lightly squeezed my hand. "It's about holding their eyes. You'll learn how to do it. I actually did it on Lauren Mallory and she completely changed." Edward laughed, "Nothing can change her." I smiled, "Well, I did." The local library was open and I wanted to look up the mystery Rosalie created. Compelling the librarian, he showed us the old newspapers. I found the headline announcing that Rosalie Hale was missing. Going through the others, I found the article on the bank massacre. There weren't any pictures, but it was interesting. Rosalie would love this. I copied the paper and headed home with Edward. This time, he carried me in his arms.

Arriving at the Cullens house, Esme, Carlisle and Jasper were in the living room. "Why would she be against it? She did it for Rose and she changed Edward last night." Edward opened the door and all eyes fell on us. Esme gasped, "Edward?" He smiled, "Yes, she did change me last night." Alice was rubbing her temples, "I knew she did. After you changed, I couldn't see you anymore. Actually, I haven't been able to see Bella either." Edward and I looked at each other. Edward blinked, "Jasper, if that's what you want, all you have to do is ask?" Alice looked at him, "What do you want?" Jasper took her hand, "I want to be a Daywalker." Alice looked at me, "Bella, will you change us?" I smiled, "Rosalie, Emmett and Edward can do it too, but yes, I will." Carlisle stood, taking Esme's hand and they smiled at each other, "So would we." I smiled, "Of course."


	18. Surprises

Chapter 18 – Surprises

So, the whole family was changed into Daywalkers. Carlisle was astonished to how it was so different. With the control of a Daywalker, in addition to the control he already developed, human blood was nothing more than a perfumed scent. I wasn't as anxious to fight with Emmett now. If he had enough momentum, he could run through a mountain. Jasper found that he was not as strongly affected by others' emotional climates as he was before. Edward could easily block out the minds of others, until they were just whispers. With more practice, he was able to stop listening to others' minds. It was like he just turned a switch off. Alice had much more control over her visions. She still got glimpses, but they were of more dire things. Such things like the weather and someone calling, she could choose to look when she wanted.

It was clear the Cullens much preferred this life. Rosalie was anxious to have a child. "I don't know when it will happen, Rosalie. Like humans, just relax and it will happen when you least expect it." Emmett was sitting on the couch, eating a bag of chips, "These things are amazing." Together, we found out consuming food on a regular basis helped keep our bodies functioning. Even doing strenuous activities on a daily basis, human food helped maintain our bodies between feedings. When he decided to, Jasper would feel the happiness from everyone. "This is the happiest I've ever felt everyone. They're happy that they can be so human again. I know it's not what we are, but its close enough." Jasper and I were walking on campus, "I'm just glad to have all of you in my life again. It was getting kind of lonely, especially after…..." I didn't complete that sentence and Jasper didn't push to. About 200 yards away, Dr. Perry was looking at us. I smiled and waved. He nodded, smiled and waved. His smile seemed forced, almost like he didn't want to smile, but did so to be kind.

It was apparent that the Cullens changed. All of them had more color in their cheeks and their eyes were different from one another. Esme had emerald green eyes, Alice and Emmett had hazel, Carlisle had sky blue eyes and Jasper had gray eyes. Jasper's eyes were more like cat eyes. They had shades of green and hazel in them. Combined with his smile, girls walked into tables and doors because they were staring at him. "Stop that. She could have hurt herself." A girl bumped her shoulder in a doorframe from staring at Jasper. I was starting to think he could make them do it. Maybe he could? Being Daywalkers ourselves, we were learning more about what we could do.

They all learned to compel people. Esme asked me to teach her how to cook again. "Well, I have three grown boys, who like to eat. I laughed, "Oh, I know. I used to help Emily cook for the pack." I rarely spoke about the pack and Jacob. Jacob had been emailing me, but I didn't answer back. Soon, the emails stopped, too. I had to let Jacob go. I know I was a hypocrite. I was doing the same thing Edward did, but it definitely was for Jacob's own good. I was a vampire and he was a werewolf. A werewolf that couldn't recognize what I was. I was slicing up some tomatoes for dinner, while I thought about Jacob. I missed him very much, but I knew he was moving on. He had to. Someone was coming, about 7 miles away. It was Edward. I could sense when he was near. Shaking my head, I set the table. This was the first time I was making dinner for Edward. He was more excited because he would finally taste my cooking.

Edward was about 2 miles away as I took the steaks out of the broiler. I pulled out the scolding hot tray with my bare hands and placed it on the stove top. I giggled to how I was able to do this. I was glad I didn't lose this in this life, my love of cooking. Normal vampires couldn't eat, so there was no point in knowing how to cook. He was now one mile away. I finished making the salads and set it on the table. He was half a mile away, when I went for the front door. He smiled hugely, "How'd you know?" "I heard you a mile away, literally," I scoffed. He took my hand and guided me into the dinner room, "This looks wonderful. This is the first time I'm eating food in almost a hundred years." I smirked, "No its not. Remember that bit of pizza at school?"

After finishing the meal, I started to clear the table. I was taking up Edward's plate, when he held my waist and his arm whirled me around to sit in his lap, "That was delicious." His lips pressed lightly to mine. I giggled under his lips, "I have to clean the kitchen." Edward's hands wouldn't release me, "I'll do it. Besides, everyone wants you to come over. There's something important they want to discuss with you." My new eyes watched him as he whirled around the kitchen and dining room. When he was done, he dashed to where I was sitting, lifted me out of my seat and carried me out of the house. "Edward, I can run on my own." He chuckled, "I want to carry you. I've missed it so much." He had me cradled to his chest. Breaking his hold, I climbed on his back. Doing this did not break his stride, "Let's do it the traditional way." While running, the tickling sensation in my spine was growing. It was worse when they were all together. It almost made me laugh. Arriving at the house, I leapt off Edward's back and ran with him, hand in hand. Emmett had the door open for us. Entering the house, he held me in a headlock. "Emmett, let go!" He chuckled darkly, "Bite me." My eyes glinted as my teeth sank into his arm.

Emmett pushed me away, but Edward caught me. "I can't believe you bit me," he sound astonished as he looked over his wound. Blood was pooling out of it for a few seconds before it healed up. My lips smacked together, "That's interesting." Edward chuckled, "What?" I smiled, "Yum." Emmett's blood was interesting to taste. It wasn't as satisfying as animal blood, but it was… interesting. Emmett was getting angry, but Jasper must have calmed him down. Carlisle and Esme came into the living room, "You asked her to do it, Emmett." Carlisle chuckled, "Well, Bella, we wanted you here, because we need you opinion." I looked at him, "On what?" Carlisle smile and Edward chuckled. Looking around, everyone had smiles on their faces. It was almost summer vacation and everyone had ideas for their family vacation. Carlisle wanted me to be included in the conversation because I was considered family and soon, I was going to be a Cullen. Since they weren't restricted from sunny places anymore, the whole world was an option. Rosalie wanted to go to Paris, Emmett wanted to go down south and Jasper wanted to go to Asia. Esme and Carlisle were happy to go wherever it was decided, so was Edward. Alice beamed, "I have the perfect idea." She glared at Edward, "Turn it off." She pointed at him, "I want it to be a surprise for everyone." Edward tussled her hair, "Of course, Alice." She danced off to make the arrangements.

Finishing up my classes, I noticed Dr. Perry was maintaining a distance from me. Its been happening since I introduced him to Alice. When I would greet him, he was smile timidly and hurries off in another direction and in class, he even wouldn't look at me. Maybe I'm overreacting. But there was something there, something I couldn't place me finger on. Dr. Perry was hiding something. Maybe its time he met Edward. I was looking down at my engagement ring, which was an antique. It belonged to Edward's human mother and it was very beautiful. Like in Forks, Edward was there after all my classes, waiting for me. "Do me a favor and read his mind? I think he's hiding something." Edward and I stood by the door, "Here he comes," he stated. "Dr. Perry," I patted his arm as he came out. His skin flushed when he saw me, "Oh, Bella. Good work today, as usual." I smiled, "Thank you. You remember Edward Cullen? Dr. Cullen's son?" He nodded, "Of course. Hello Edward." Edward smiled, "Hello. Bella wanted to let you know that we were engaged." He smiled, "That's wonderful. If you'll excuse me?" Dr. Perry rushed down the hall and out of the building. Edward and I watched after him, "You're right. He is hiding something. His mind was so confused and scared." My eyes narrowed, "I could get more out of him." Edward hugged my shoulders, "Probably. But not today. We have to get going, or we'll miss our flight." Our destination was a well kept secret. Alice went as far as doing the shopping and packing for everyone, not that she complained.

Touching down, we were in Tahiti. Several cars were waiting for us. They drove us to a private beach house. The house's foundation was in the ocean. The house was literally on the water. The house was made of faded wooden planks and bamboo sticks. Inside, the living room was huge, with several doors to the bedrooms. All the doors were to the bedrooms, that were open and all the rooms had large white beds. The kitchen was off to the left. The center door opened up to a terrace, that was over the ocean. The sun was shining in every window. Everyone, including myself, was smiling and talking about the house. Emmett took Rosalie's hand and walked out to the terrace. "Guys, we have jet skis out here!" Edward guided me to one of the bedrooms, "This place is beautiful." My fingers brushed along the billowy bed, "I've never been to anyplace like this." In the floor of our bedroom, there was a small window, looking down into the water below the house. Each room had this feature. I was looking out the window, looking out at the ocean. Edward's hand held my waist, "And its thanks to you we can all be here." "You wouldn't believe how tired you can get of nighttime in eighty-odd years," I quoted him from our first time in the meadow. He chuckled, "What are we doing inside, when there's an ocean right outside."

Everyone had the same idea. We spent the day in the sun, swimming, racing on the jet skis, exploring the reefs and taking in all the wildlife. As Daywalkers, animals didn't avoid the Cullens like before. Animals couldn't tell what we were. The first few days were paradise. I was cooking the majority of the meals. Esme helped as much as she could, considering she hadn't cooked in more than seventy years. One afternoon, I was going to go swimming. "Bella?" Alice called me, "Could you come here?" In the living room, Esme and Rosalie was with her, "Yes Alice?" Alice held out her hand, "You're not swimming today. I have a big surprise for you." "Alice," I groaned, "no more surprises. This trip was enough." Alice scowled, "No! I've been planning this for a while. Don't be difficult." She took my hand and pulled me into her bedroom. She made me sit at her vanity, "Just trust me." I always trusted Alice, but I was concerned when she blindfolded me. I sat at her vanity for hours as she washed, brushed and styled my hair. She took my hand to make me stand up. I felt awkward as she took off my swimsuit and put on a smooth material on me. My hands grazed along the garment she had me wear. Was this silk? It smelled similar to my blue dress from the gala. "Stay here and do not remove the blindfold," she threatened. Air whooshed across my face. Suddenly, someone took my hands, "Come on." This was Rosalie. Knowing Alice was near, I didn't ask what was going on.

I was being guided out of the house. I could smell the open air, hear the calls of the nocturnal animals and feel the sand beneath my feet. We were walking at a human pace and it was getting boring. I could tell we were walking down hill. The wind shifted and brought with it new scents. There were flowers, smoke, ocean water, more sand, citrus, silk, linen and other familiar scents. Alice was giggling. It sounded like she was trying to get it under control. "Is everything ready?" My brow furrowed, what is going on? I was getting impatient. Alice finally took off the blindfold and we were on a secluded beach. I was standing between two borders made of flower petals and sliced carambola that looked like stars. "Alice, what is all this?" She was beamed, with one of her hands hidden behind her back. "This is my surprise."

Esme and Rosalie took my hands and guided me through several palm trees. I noticed Alice and Rosalie were wearing matching dresses. We were now standing in front of two huge palm fronds. Each frond was taller than me and they were obscuring the view from behind them. From behind the giant fronds, the smell of smoke was stronger, as was the smells of linen, silk and the two familiar scents. With these scents, there was two beatings. One was rhythmic and further away, but the other was frantic, skipping beats and much closer. Were there humans here? Rosalie released my arm, "See you in a moment." She dashed back the way we came. Alice took out her hidden object from behind her back. She held out a bouquet of exotic flowers. The arrangement was made of hanging Tahitian vanilla orchids that draped over my hands. There were Tahitian gardenias, with several hibiscuses. Alice had more of the gardenias in her hand. Esme took them and pinned them in my hair. "Alice?" She smiled, "I'm shocked you haven't figured it out yet. This is your wedding." "My wedding?" My mind shied away from that idea, but it couldn't be ignored. My dress was made of white silk and most of the flowers were white too. Alice and Rosalie were wearing matching dresses; bridesmaids. Esme was beaming. She hugged me and went off in the direction Rosalie went. "Alice, I can't get married without my..." The frantic beating was behind me now, with one of the familiar scents. "Hello honey." I whirled, "Mom!" My voice was thick with emotion as she hugged me, "Alice flew us out to surprise you. Why didn't you tell me you were getting married?" I couldn't answer. This was all too much.  
The palm fronds were pulled back by two slightly darkened natives. Alice marched ahead of me and Renee held my hand. "This is so beautiful, Bella. I'm so happy for you." She kissed my cheek. Looking down the aisle, at the altar, Edward was waiting for me. His smile was exuberant when his eyes fell on me. Emmett stood by Edward, with a blindfold in his hands. His eyes motioned to Edward. He was being surprised too. This was all Alice's doing. Renee marched with me down the aisle to tribal music. When we finally reached the altar, Edward took my hand and we listened to the preacher.


	19. Additions

Chapter 19 – Additions

Alice planned everything perfectly. The ceremony was at twilight, Edward's favorite time of day. She arranged a small reception on the beach. Phil had to calm my mom, because she couldn't stop crying. After the reception, Edward and I had our own beach house. Our physical love was more than I ever expected. We went for a midnight swim. We swam far into the ocean, but we couldn't wait until we reached back to the house. Our first physical act of love was under the water's surface. Breathing wasn't a necessity for either of us. Even in the water, I saw how beautiful he was. Our bodies sunk further into the water, until we were on the ocean floor, hundreds of feet beneath the surface. Now, we've been married for several months. College was wonderful, now that I don't have to worry about paying for it. Edward all but snapped at me when I promised to pay him back. "Bella, we're married. What's mine is yours."More good news. After our trip, Rosalie realized she was pregnant.

Her pregnancy progressed faster than a human's pregnancy. After a few weeks, she didn't hunt for herself. Her stomach was getting too big. She settled with drinking donated blood and eating food. When she was just 6 weeks, but her progress was similar to five months. The baby gave her a powerful kick and she groaned, "Wow, that was strong." Esme smiled, "That _is_ Emmett's child." One morning, I was brushing Rosalie's hair when she gasped and clutched at her huge stomach, "I think this is it." Along with the kick, there was a muffled cracking sound. Carlisle dashed into the room, "I think you're right. Emmett!" He dashed into the room, to find Rosalie breathing deeply and clutching at her stomach. "What…. now? Can't you hold it in?" Rosalie glared, "Would someone slap him for me?" I caught Emmett in the back of the head, "Done." She was gasping in pain. Carlisle was unsure how to deliver the baby. Rosalie's stomach was solid as stone. The only movement was seeing the kicks from the baby. Standing her up, Rosalie groaned and almost fell over, but Carlisle caught her arm. She groaned and blood was sliding down the inside of her leg. She screamed and more blood flowed out and it soaked the carpet. Seeing this, Carlisle decided a traditional birth could work.

In the room, Esme helped Carlisle, while Emmett and I helped Rosalie. She pushed and pushed until the child was out of her body and crying. "It's a girl!" Carlisle announced. The child was small and covered with blood. Its black hair was matted with blood and specks of yellow particles. They wrapped the child in blankets, after cleaning off the blood. Carlisle speculated that the yellow particles were part of the placenta. Tears streamed down Rosalie and Esme's faces. I couldn't fight my own tears as Rosalie held her child for the first time. Watching Emmett and Rosalie leaning over their baby, "We have a baby girl," Rosalie cooed. I knew I wanted this. "Thank you, Bella." My tears were flowing as quickly as Esme's were. Each of us held the little girl. She opened her eyes and they were like Rosalie's. She had colors of golden blond in her hair. Alice and I stared at the child, when she smiled at us.

Looking at the child, Edward shared my feelings in becoming parents. We were alone in my, well ours now, house. "Bella, you want to have a child. That doesn't surprise me. That is what I wanted for you all along." We were locked in each other's embrace, in bed. The sheet was tangled around our bodies. "But is it something you want?" He grazed his nose along my jaw line, "Whatever makes you happy." I blinked, "Edward, do you want to know why I really want to have a child?" His lips pressed into my neck, "Umm-hmm." I tried to maintain my thought, but it was fading. "I want to give you something you don't have." That caught him by surprise. His eyes opened and his lips were frozen against my neck. He pulled back to look me in the face, "What do you mean?" My fingers caressed his cheek, "You are truly the man who has everything. There is nothing I can give you." "Bella," he smirked, "you have given me the greatest thing in the world. You gave me you and your love. There is nothing else you need to give me." My eyes saddened, "Please, Edward? I want to give you a child. I want you to have a small piece of me that is yours completely." Edward's arms tightened around me, "I have you. That's enough." My eyes closed contentedly. It was enough having each other, but I still wanted my own pretty baby. "Then, nevermind." His finger lifted my chin until our eyes met, "Do you really want to have a child? And not for me to have one?" A tear escaped my eye as I nodded. "Emma is so beautiful. From the second I held her, I wanted one for myself. For us." He smiled and pressed his lips to mine, "Then you'd better ask Rosalie for her advice on a nursery." My eyes widened and more tears fell, "Really?" He smiled at me, "It's not like we need to sleep. And we'll have a great deal of help. And, after watching Rosalie in her pregnancy, we know what to expect with you. So, let's have a child." I hugged myself closer to him, "Thank you, Edward." He kissed my neck, "I love you." I looked back at him, "I love you too." "Umm, Bella?" I looked at him and he had a different look on his face. One I haven't seen before, "When do you want to get started?" I smirked, "Now." Rolling across the bed, Edward looked down at me, "After you sure?" I smiled, "Ready when you are."

My pregnancy was interesting. When I told my mom I was having a baby, she screamed so much over the phone, I thought her receiver would burn out. Of course, I had to wait a few months before telling her. In case she wanted to visit, I wanted my body to be in proportion with the allotted time. She and Esme gushed for hours over the phone. They made a long list of things the baby would need. Diapers had to be included. What kind of a baby wouldn't need diapers? Renee sent gifts on a regular basis. She was more anxious than I was to know the sex of the child, but that was something we had to wait for. Edward bonded with the child in his own way. A few weeks before it was born, Edward heard its mind. Edward could hear our baby's thoughts. Edward would play my lullaby for the baby. "The baby loves the song." Edward told me every thought our baby had. Edward told me how much the baby loved the both of us and the sounds of our voices. This made me more anxious for him or her to be born.

We knew, from Rosalie's pregnancy, ultrasounds were useless. The child was encased in it placenta and it was as hard as our skin. Studying from Rosalie's pregnancy, Carlisle deduced that the crack right before the baby is born is the child breaking its encasement, getting ready to get out and the blood that trickled out was from inside the placenta. It was the blood the child was feeding on. When I was in labor, there was no other term for it; a lot of blood came out, because I had just finished consuming a bag of donated blood. The child was thrashing, breaking its encasement. I groaned and almost ripped Edward's hand from his body.

Like Rosalie, Esme and Carlisle delivered our child, while Alice and Edward helped me. Soon, the baby was out. "It's a boy!" I leaned forward and held out my arms. Esme handed me the blood-covered child. Taking a towel, I wiped away the blood from his face. When he opened his eyes, he stared up at me with light green eyes, with some coloring of brown in them. Looking at me, he smiled widely. His hand touched my cheek. Edward smiled, "Bella, he's beautiful." The child looked back at the sound of Edward's voice. He reached his small arms towards him. I handed Edward our son. I could see on his face that Edward's heart was melting. "What should we name him?" I smiled as I brushed his dark hair, "EJ. Edward Cullen Jr." A tear fell down Edward's cheek, "All right." Esme's tears fell as her fingers grazed over her own bump. Alice stood by Edward, looking at EJ's face. She held up her daughter, Madison. Madison was a few months older, with her mother's face, but her father's eyes and hair color. Alice had taken to growing out her hair, something else we discovered. Our hair can grow, as well. Madison smiled and held out her arms, "No, Maddy, you can't hold him yet."

Edward chuckled as he handed me the baby. "Let me clean him up, Bella, and then you should go hunting." I felt the veins around my eyes grow as I was giving birth. Edward nodded, "She's right. I'll take you." I shook my head, "No way. I'll hunt tomorrow. I want my baby." Edward smirked, "So stubborn. All right, I'll bring you another bag." Esme smiled as she placed my little boy in my arms. EJ curled one of his small fingers through one of the curls in my hair. He smiled, showing snow white teeth. He grazed his lips with the back of his hand, he was thirsty. Edward was back, with a cup of blood for me and a steel-tipped bottle for the baby. Ignoring my own thirst, I took the bottle of fed our baby for the first time. Edward and I sat together, watching our newborn son.


	20. Secrets Revealed

Chapter 20 – Secrets Revealed

I was enjoying my life in college. EJ was almost a year old now. Carlisle and Esme had a little girl, too, Nina. Emma was watched closely, to track her progress. She went through her infant months at a rapid pace, as all the children did. Her development was quick, but it was slowing as she got older. In her first few weeks, she was walking, talking, running and hunting. EJ, Madison and Nina followed Emma's lead. It was obvious she was proud to be the eldest, clearly something she inherited from Rosalie. EJ was now the size of a three year old. None of the children slept, but all of us insisted that they took some down time so that they did not use up the blood in the bodies too quickly. EJ was stubborn about it. "Mommy, I don't want to spend it with the girls. I want to go with Daddy." EJ batted his large eyes at me, "Ask him, then." He bounded up the stairs, taking four steps at a time searching for Edward. He was in the study with Carlisle. _Edward, could you please open the door?_ Edward smiled as he held the door for us. His arms circled, me, "I love it when you do that." We found out that after consuming each other's blood, Edward could hear my mind, but only when I wanted him to. I still preferred my mind being silent to him. When we found this out, it was quite interesting.

_I wonder what's taking them so long_. Edward walked into the living room, "Stop worrying, we're right here." EJ leaped into my lap, "You were worried?" He knew me so well. I smiled at him, "I always do, when you're away from me." He rolled his eyes, "I was with Daddy." I smirked, _But Daddy's not me_. Edward scoffed, "Now that's not fair, Bella." I looked at him, "What do you mean?" "I heard you," he scoffed. I smiled, _Now my husband is losing his mind_. "Edward, I didn't say anything." He looked at me perplexed for a long moment. "Did you just think that I was losing my mind?" My smile fell, "How'd you know?" EJ was looking at the both of us, "What's going on?" Edward stared at me and soon, a smile came on his face, "I think I can hear Mommy's thoughts!"

From that day, Edward always wanted me to respond to him with my mind. "Daddy, do I have to spend down time with Maddy, Nina and Emma?" EJ leapt into Edward's arms and he chuckled, "Why don't you want to?" EJ groaned, "Because they're girls. All they do it play with dolls." Edward chuckled and looked at me. I put my hands in the air, palms forward, _He's your son_. Carlisle was smiling, "Why don't you spend it with me? We can do whatever you want." EJ grinned widely, "Thank you, Grampa." I felt someone or several people outside the door. Opening it, there were my nieces and sister in law. They were all glaring at EJ. He looked back, nervousness coloring his face. Emma glared, "Get him!" EJ leapt out of Edward's arms and ran around the room. "EJ! Emma! All of you stop it!" I barked. Edward dashed across the room, closing the door and lifted EJ into the air. I took up Emma and Madison and Carlisle took up Nina, "Emma, you are in trouble!" Carlisle looked at Nina, "And you too, young lady," Nina looked up at him with large eyes, "We need to talk." Emmett opened the door, "Let's go, Emma." Jasper was right behind Emmett, "Madison." The girls whimpered as they went off with their fathers. "I'm sorry, Daddy," Nina whispered. I looked back at them, as Esme's voice travelled into the room, "Don't let her get away with it, Carlisle." I smiled and held my arms for EJ, "Come on. You can come with me and Daddy."

Edward and I still had to pack up the last few things from my house. Esme hated having us away from the family. I agreed, but I wasn't going to sell the house. I was bragging my feet about moving in completely. It was different for me to live with a whole family, instead of living alone. I looked up from the box I was packing to EJ. He was holding a picture, "Mommy, can I have this?" He handed it to me; it was Renee and Charlie's wedding picture. My eyes were blinking back tears, "Of course. And, remember, Grams is coming for a visit soon." He beamed, "I can't wait. I miss her." It was hard explaining to Renee about EJ on her first visit. She hated secrets, unless she was in on them. She couldn't see me during my pregnancy, because it was so quick. EJ grew from a cell to a newborn baby in the matter of three months. "Bella, what's going on? Is something wrong with you and Edward?" I was lying in bed, rubbing my huge stomach, "No, Mom. Everything is great. It's just that Carlisle says we can't have a lot of visitors. You remember, Rosalie just had her baby too." Renee was skeptical, "Yes, that's true. She didn't even look pregnant at the wedding." I scoffed dismissively, "Yea, some people are blessed with good genes. I'm huge." She giggled, "I know. When I was carrying you, I couldn't see my feet after 7 months. But you were worth it."

After watching Rosalie's progress, Edward and I waited the appropriate amount of time, to make it seem that I had a normal, human gestation period. I even took off from school, but I easily made up for the missed time. While Edward and EJ played or hunted, I would use the quiet time to study. When EJ was with the family, Edward wanted me and I couldn't fight it, I wanted him too. EJ was such an advanced child, he was already reading book considered for high school students. Renee was excited seeing her first grandchild. She regretted not being there for his birth. It took me hours to convince her that his progress is very fast and that it was a 'need to know' basis. Surprisingly, she gave up with good grace; she just wanted to see EJ. For her visit, we were prepared to compel her to go along with things, just in case. I would hate it if things came to that, but it would be necessary to protect the children. EJ was excited for this visit, but we had to explain the rules. He could not bite Renee or Phil, do much talking, running and leaping. He rolled his eyes, "Mommy, I know the rules. I'll be good," he promised.

Edward chucked as he took EJ up in his arms, "You'd better be." The three of us ran back to the house, with the last of my things. Once inside, EJ lept onto Jasper's head, covering his eyes, "You can't see me! You can't see me!" Jasper chuckled, "But I can still smell you." Alice came downstairs, holding her daughter, "EJ, get off my Daddy!" Jasper chuckled as he reached up for EJ, "It's alright, sweetie." Edward and I went up to our bedroom. Before I could put away my things, Edward held my waist, "What is it?" I shook my head. He groaned, spun me around to make me look at him, "Are you worried about this visit?" I blinked, not saying anything. "Bella," his voice heavy with concern, "if you want we could furnish the other house and we stay there with your mom? Just you, me and EJ." My eyes closed and he pulled me into his chest, "It's just that she is so observant. That last trip, there were so many slips-ups. With EJ and the girls, then there was Emmett wanting to fight. Edward, I don't want to have to compel my mom and Phil. I mean now the kids are a little..." " Bella," Edward stopped my ramblings, "please stop worrying. Rosalie promises to watch Emmett and Emma. And I will be reading their minds the whole time." There was a timid wrap on the floor, "Come in, Alice." The door opened and she was smiling, "And I will be watching for any slip-ups that could be avoided. Besides, Renee likes to stay here with all of us. Trust me, Bella; this visit will be much better. All you have to do is enjoy the time with your mom." I smiled timidly, "Thank you." Edward tightened his hold on me, crushing me gently to his chest. Alice left and EJ came into the room. He saw our embrace. He tugged at my pant leg and raised his arms up. I picked him up and he hugged my neck. He put his small palm to my neck. I could feel his concern for me, _Don't worry, Mommy_.

Renee practically jumped out of the car before it completely stopped. "Mom!" I ran towards her and she hugged me, "Oh honey, I've missed you so much." Renee commented on how big EJ and the girls were. Phil talked sports with Emmett, keeping him busy. Renee talked with me and Edward about school. She wasn't surprised that I already made up for my classes. During the visit, Esme and I cooked large meals. EJ wasn't fond of eating, but he knew it would help. To butter him up, Esme baked him one of his favorite dessert, a mini strawberry cake, with a bit of blood in the batter. Renee offered to put EJ to bed. He was young, but he was a good actor. He pretended to fall asleep in her arms. Like a human child, he yawned widely and sucked his thumb. She groaned a bit as she picked him up, "This is a heavy boy," she chuckled and kissed his hair. I watched after them, "Be good," I whispered so low that Renee didn't hear, but he did. He opened one eye and winked at me. Soon, Phil decided to go to bed. Eventually, everyone played their parts and 'went to bed' at different times. I decided to 'stay up' a little longer and read. Edward kissed me lightly on the lips, "I'll be upstairs," he whispered on my lips. Renee came downstairs and saw our embrace. Edward bid her good night and left us alone. Renee was smiling widely, but when Edward was gone, her smile fell, "Bella, we need to talk." I looked at her and I recognized the look on her face. She figured something out and she wanted some confirmation.

She sat with me on the couch, "I just want to ask one question, that's all." I squared my shoulders, preparing to compel her if necessary, "Yes?" She stared into my eyes, "Does the name 'Darius' mean anything to you?" I froze. Holy crow, how did she know his name? She waited and I shook my head, "No." Her face got hot and I could hear her heart beating faster, "Bella, you may have changed, but you can't lie to me. I could see it." I scoffed, "What are you talking about?" Her brow furrowed, "Your darker hair, your paler skin, you're not tripping over things, you drive much faster and, of all things, you married Edward and had a baby. Bella, this is been a family secret and you figured it out." My eyes widened. I knew what I had to do, but I didn't have the heart. This was my mother. "M...Mom, what are you saying?" She sighed deeply, "Bella," she dropped her head and looked up at me from underneath her lashes, "I know you're a Daywalker. The whole family is. I knew what the Cullens were from the time I met them in Arizona. I knew they were vampires, from their gold eyes and pale skin. When I shook Carlisle's hand, that confirmed it for me. I didn't dwell on it because I was more concerned about you. Which reminds me, why did you really end up in the hospital in Arizona? I know you were bitten. I saw the scar when I came to Forks to get you, but I didn't know how you were still human."

I sat there, dumbfounded. She knew. She knew everything. What is going on here? I became a statue, just staring at Renee. I was locked in my own mind. She knew what the Cullens were, she knew who Darius was? Wait, a family secret? That brought me back, "What do you mean 'a family secret?' What secret?" She looked at me, "I'm right, then." She smiled in triumph, "This story has been passed on for generations. I was going to tell you when you turned eighteen, but then I met the Cullens and they left. I thought it would be better that you didn't know right then. I didn't even know if you knew, then I saw the bite mark. But you weren't well. I thought you might have done something rash." I gasped and stood up, in one movement, "Hold it! You knew this all this time! Mom, you're the descendant of Darius. Mom, you should have told me!" The monster was waking up and ready to attack. I pushed it away, this is my mother. She stood, "What about you? Edward was a vampire. You knew and you didn't tell me." I rolled my eyes, "Since you knew all this, then you should know I couldn't. It was dangerous enough that I knew. First James was hunting me, then Laurent tried to kill me after they left, then Victoria wanting her revenge with my death. I couldn't put you in all that." She gasped in horror, "What? You endured all that? Where the hell was Edward? Why wasn't he there to protect you?" I looked at her, then behind her, "Edward!" She whirled and I heard the increase in her heartbeat, "Well? Why didn't you protect my daughter?" The pain in Edward's eyes was wounding me, "Mom, stop! He tried his best." I went over to him. We stared at each other, "He's the one that got James off me, when I ran off to meet him. He tricked me, making me believe he had you. Edward sucked out the venom, before it could reach my heart." She stared at us, "And after your eighteenth birthday, when you got lost in the woods?" Edward sighed and held me in his arms, "I'll tell you everything, Renee."

Renee sat silently, listening to the true tales of mine and Edward's relationship. She understood why he left me. Then I explained what happened to me when they were gone. Edward winced at some points and his arm tightened around my waist. Her eyes began to tear as she listened to when I found Charlie. "The vampire killed Charlie and I killed him." I altered that part for obvious reasons. I explained my first few months, Prof. McCallister, coming to Cornell and reading the legends. She loved the part when I saw the Cullens again. She was tearing at that part and listened on batted breath when saw what I was.

I got her a cup of coffee as the waning hours of the morning came. Renee wanted to know everything and she did, almost. We explained about the pregnancy and birth. She thought it was a good idea to compel Phil, just in case. She didn't like it, but she understood. "Have you ever compelled me?" "No!" I answered automatically. I could see the sleep creeping up on her face, "Enough for now. You need your rest, Mom." She blinked and yawn, "You're right." She laughed once, "You sound like a mom. By the way, did everyone...?" Edward smiled and nodded. Renee bit her lips, "I hope I wasn't rude." Esme dashed down the stairs, making Renee jump, "You weren't. Bella is your daughter. Trust me, Renee, she is a daughter to me as well and we all love her very much. She completed our family." Edward kissed my hair, "And she completed me." I looked up at him and smiled. I could smell the salt water from Renee's tears, "I'm sorry I was mad with you, Edward. She's all that I have. Now I know she'll be taken care of, forever."

Renee and Phil went home. I felt so much better now that my mom knew the truth, about everything. I somehow felt lighter at this fact. She told me how her father told her the legend and that her mother didn't know about it. Edward and the others were relieved as well. Carlisle asked if Renee knew if Darius was still alive. "I'm sorry, no. That's still a mystery. But, all of you have plenty of time to find that out." Esme and I took Renee to the airport. I watched as my mom flew home, knowing about all of my life choices.


	21. Trouble

Chapter 21 – Trouble

At school, Dr. Perry was acting even more suspicious. He went as far as avoiding Carlisle. He didn't attend this year's charity event at the Clinton House. Rosalie was mysteriously transferred out of his class for her next year. Rosalie agreed with me, something was going on. It was time to find out. Leaving EJ at home, Edward and I followed Dr. Perry to his home. At his home, Dr. Perry was very much at ease. He read, graded papers and watched television. It was getting boring watching him, but soon, things got interesting. A visitor stopped by the house. "Michael," the man spoke with a heavy European accent, "it's great to see you again." Dr. Perry smiled, "Viktor, it's been too long." Edward and I looked at each other, _You don't think...? _ He shrugged. We continued to listen. "You're sure? You think more survived?" "Yes, in fact, I believe there's a whole clan of them nearby." There was a deep throaty growl coming from the house, "I thought I wiped them out long ago. Maybe its time I awaken my sons." "I don't think that's necessary. There haven't been any disappearances or mysterious deaths." There was a scoff, "Remember what I told you. They can control the humans' minds. Humans could be bitten and survived. I told you of the Daywalkers' mind tricks. They made humans their slaves." "Hmmm, well there was a young lady a few months ago asking about the old legends."

"Yes, and? What of her?" Edward held my hand. His body tensed, almost ready to spring to protect me. "I showed her the legends in the archives. Very smart girl and I was very impressed by her, but suspicious. She asked about the gala event and I don't even remember the rest of that conversation. I knew she wasn't on the list, but for some reason, I recommended her. Also, when I saw her in the archives again, she was with the vampires I told you about." There was a snarl, "The Cullens. This clan is legendary among us. Avoiding the humans for decades, living among them." "If you knew about them, why not hunt them?" "Because they are different. They hunt animals, but I have always kept close ears on them, in case they slipped up. This girl, was she from Washington?" "Yes. Why?" "So, Ms. Swan has found them again. Foolish child. But it would seem there is more to Ms. Swan than meets the eye. Michael, bring her to me." Edward almost hissed, I could feel it. My hand quickly covered his mouth. "Viktor, she is innocent." "You said the clan you know of, it was the Cullens, was it not?" There was silence. "And this girl came for the legends and she was alone. She's a Daywalker and she changed the vampires, so that they could blend in with the humans even better. Bring her! And soon. I must see what she is before I inform my children. A child of Darius may be alive." Edward took me up into his arms and ran to the house. "Carlisle!" Edward was tensed for an attack, not putting me down, "Carlisle!" He practically roared. EJ came into the room. Without blinking, Edward scooped up our son and placed him in my arms. "Edward, put us down. We're safe." It was clear in his eyes that he didn't believe that. Right now, he wasn't my husband, he was my protector again. But this time, he... we also had to protect the small boy in my arms.  
Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper found us. Jasper must have felt Edward's tension, because a calm came over me. "Jasper, I don't need it." "Edward, was is it?" Carlisle asked Edward what happened and he explained. "Edward, please, put me down." He looked at me frantically. "Son, she's safe. She is with us again." Edward finally sat me on the couch, keeping me locked in his arms. EJ sat in my lap, clutching at my shoulder, hiding his face in my neck, one of his fingers playing with the curls in my hair. He was anxious from what he just heard. "But why Bella?" Rosalie asked. "Speculation. He knew what you were, but they are unsure about me." I could see the muscles tightening in Emmett's arms, "Well, he's not getting her." Edward's fingers pressed harder into my side, "Ouch!" "Sorry," he mumbled as he loosened his grip, but only slightly. Esme held Nina and Madison, "So, what are we going to do?" "Leave?" Alice suggested. Edward opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him off, "No." He looked at me, in disbelief. I had to explain myself, "If we leave, it will only confirm their theories. Now, he doesn't know that we know what's going on, so we have to take the upper hand. When Dr. Perry talks to me, I'll invite him and Victor to my house for dinner. The house is still furnished and we could do it there." Edward snarled and EJ hugged me tighter around the neck. Carlisle looked at me, "I think that's a good idea. And have Edward there to see their minds on what they want." Edward stared at me and I looked at him, "Of course, I wouldn't let her do this by herself."

From that night, Edward was on constant alert. He rarely let me out of his sight. I knew he was watching me through the minds of people I was near. Alice concentrated on Dr. Perry to see when he would ask. I would see him. I would never look at him straight on, always in the periphery. I ignored him almost as he completely ignored me. Edward kept his mind open to the minds of others in case there were more people watching me. There was no one and nothing for a few days. When we hunted, we left the state, heading north to Canada. The whole family was on alert. Edward was getting anxious and thought about confronting Dr. Perry. Carlisle, Esme and I talked him out of it. "Edward, that would do more harm them good. Things will happen in its own time." In our room, Edward paced back and forth, almost wearing out the carpet, "When will he ask?" My eyes watched, scrutinizing him, hoping he would not lash out. Soon, I got frustrated. I pulled him on the bed, "Edward, stop." I rested his head in my lap, "You're driving me insane." I knew he was going to apologize, but I cut his words off with a kiss. His fingers tangled in my hair, holding me to him. He sat up and pulled my body into his. Edward needed this distraction. We were at my house, keeping up appearances in case I was being watched. EJ had to stay with the family. We didn't want the knowledge of our son to be known to Viktor. Also, Edward and I needed this time alone. I wanted to get his mind off this. He hated having me in danger. He wanted to be proactive about it, but Carlisle was right. That would do more harm than good.  
On a rainy day, I was hurrying home from my late class. I knew Edward was going insane having me away from him. "Ms. Swan?" I turned to my caller and smiled, "Dr. Perry?" He smiled in response, "I mean Mrs. Cullen, I was wondering if you were interested in learning more about the legends you read about?" This was it, "I would love to. The internet wasn't much help." Sweat was beginning to dew on his brow, "Excellent. I have a colleague who would love to speak to you about it. He's from Europe and he knows everything. He's studied those legends extensively." I beamed, showing real interest, "That's great." "Wonderful, how about this Saturday?" A plan came to me, a plan Edward would hate, but Carlisle would go for. "I have an idea. Why don't you and your friend join me and my husband for dinner Saturday night? Edward and I would love to have you." His heart skipped a beat, "Well, that is very kind of you." I could hear it in his voice, he was going to refuse me. That won't do. I held his eyes, "I insist. Please?" His eyes grew heavy, "Of course."  
At home, Edward wasn't happy. "YOU DID WHAT?" I flinched as he yelled. Esme held my shoulders, "Edward, it is a good idea. To have him on our grounds, in a calm setting. It's a good plan. Don't be mad at her." Nina crawled into my lap and patted my cheek. My new sister tried to comfort me, "Edward," she sang in her small voice, "please don't yell at Bella. She doesn't like it." I patted her hair, "It's alright. He's just upset." Edward paced the room, with his arms folded tightly over his chest, "Could everyone please excuse us?" EJ stayed clung around my neck. His palm was pressed to my neck, _I'm not going_.

Everyone left, leaving EJ and I to face Edward. He walked silently back and forth until he finally faced us. He stared at me, "Why did you do that? Why would you invite them here?" I blinked slowly, "Because, in our home, he would have to control himself." He walked towards me, wrapping his arms around my body. EJ was pressed against both of our chests, "Bella, this is dangerous." I looked up at him, "I know. But if things go wrong, everyone will be there. Instead of letting me go to someplace unknown, we'll know where I am and we can be in control of the situation." He lend his forehead to mine, "I don't like it." I clasped my hand on the back of his neck, "We have to know what they know." _Edward, we have to do this. I don't want Viktor to hurt EJ_. He opened his eyes and the both of us looked down at our son.


	22. Confrontation

Chapter 22 – Confrontation

The night of the dinner, everything and everyone was ready. Dr. Perry tried to back out of it, but I 'persuaded' him to keep the dinner date. It was obvious, when he told Viktor, he wasn't happy about it. EJ was at the house, being guarded by Esme, Alice and Rosalie. Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper were closest to the house, though they were two miles away. Edward watched my every move as I made dinner and prepared the house. This was getting annoying. In frustration, I threw the case of silverware at him, "Could you set the table?" He was done in less than a minute, "Anything else?" Putting the food on the table, "Yes," I held his face, "calm down. This evening is tense enough. You have to remain calm or he'll pick up on it." He inhaled deeply, "You're right." He looked to the front door, "They'll be here soon. Emmett just caught their scent." I nodded, "Ok, let's just find out what we can." Edward held me closely and his mouth found mine. He crushed my to his body, not wanting to let me go. The sounds of a car pulling up to the front of the house reached us. Edward could hear it too, but he still didn't release me. The doorbell rang and his lips still crushed mine. The bell rang again and I smiled, "Answer the door."

He smiled a genuine smile. Kissing me calmed him down enough to endure this evening. He opened the door to Dr. Perry and an older man. He had dark hair, with touches of gray around his temples. His skin was slightly creased with lines. He looked a bit older than Charlie. My nose was bombarded with the foulest scent. Much worse than Jacob's scent. I almost gagged as he stepped into the house and introduced himself. It was a good thing EJ wasn't here. He would have given the game away from that scent. He would have complained and ran from the room. "Hello," he said with his thick accent, "I am Dr. Viktor MacNicol." Edward shook his hand and I felt his tension, _Disgusting_. When he was very upset, I could hear his mind. We discovered I could hear some of his thoughts after the first time I consumed his blood. It seems when drinking each other's blood, we absorb some of each other's abilities. Viktor smiled at me, but I could see the tendons in his neck stiffen, "Mrs. Cullen, I have heard a great deal about you." I took his hand and his skin was blazing hot. I smiled sweetly, "Thank you." I gestured to the dining room and Dr. Perry walked past me. His heart was beating frantically. Edward and I shared a glance. _Hold your breath, love_. It felt uncomfortable, but it helped. Viktor's scent was making me sick. I could barely eat and smile.

"Dr. Perry tells me you were interested in the legends of the old world." He was fishing. I could play along. "Yes, stories like that fascinate me. It was quite interesting. The legends coincide with human events almost perfectly." Edward looked at me from the corner of his eye. His tension hadn't died. He was posed to spring to my defense, if needed. The dinner conversation was light and casual. He asked about my knowledge of the legends and he was curious about Edward and his family. "Bella and I met in high school, our junior year. We dated to the beginning of our senior year. But my father got a job offer in Los Angeles. After my sister and I graduated from high school, we moved out East to go to Cornell." He smiled, "How many brothers and sisters do you have?" Viktor showed great interest in that topic. He wanted to know how many of us were there. Edward lied coolly, "Just me, Emmett and Alice." It wasn't that far from the truth. The Cullens always said just the three of them were adopted into the family.

Viktor looked at me, "What about you, Bella?" It was my turn for the interrogation, "I'm an only child. My mom and step-dad live in down south." I wasn't giving their exact location, "and my dad…" I hesitated. Edward took my hand, "Her father was murdered in their home town. That's why Bella came out East. She wanted to leave." A tear slide down my face. Viktor and Dr. Perry were silent for a moment. Viktor was still looking at me, "I'm so sorry to hear that." I nodded and clear my throat, "It's fine. It happened some time ago and I'm still coping with it. Part of me still believes it should have been me." Edward squeezed my fingers, "Please don't say that."

The evening went on, surprisingly, nice. Well, as nicely as two vampires, a human and a werewolf can go. I was right to have them come to my house. Viktor was keeping himself under control. Viktor and I discussed the legends. He gave some more information in the story of Viktor, the young man who sought the wolves. "The overlords were quite cruel to their slaves and Viktor saw his father be killed by then, only to be sustenance." There was a low, guttural growl. "They were demons that walked the earth and Viktor thought the wolves would bring the salvation his family and the humans needed. But, finding the wolves, it was a curse. A curse he would endure for the rest of his life." I briefly glanced at Edward, "How come?" "On his third full moon, after seeing his family beginning to put their lives together, Viktor changed into a wolf, but he couldn't change back. He had to leave his wife and child, because he was too wild to be around humans." Edward leaned forward on the table, "I've heard stories that, as wolves, they would kill anyone near them, including their own family." Viktor stared at Edward, "Yes. The animal instincts come over and the yearning for killing does take control." Edward sneered, "Well, they are dogs after all." I kicked him underneath the table. Another growl came, "Well, they served a purpose. The vampires ravaged the land, enslaving and slaughtering humans." Edward looked back at him, "True, but not all of them were like that. We read about Darius and how he was kind to his humans. He didn't want to condemn them to the life he had. So, he kept them human and helped them prosper." Viktor leaned forward on the table, resting his hand on the surface, "Yes and that makes up for keeping them prisoner."

Edward was getting angry, "Maybe so, but at least the vampires had much better control. They didn't see a human and automatically attack. The vampires were more civilized." Viktor's eyes widened, "Civilized? They ripped the humans apart; they starved them and would throw scraps of food to the humans, just to watch them fight over it, like they were animals." I could feel Edward's anger, "True enough, but those beasts were no better. They would chase the humans down, in a worse and violent way. They would rip them apart just as badly." Viktor's fist slammed on the table, leaving an imprint, "I never did!" Dr. Perry and I stared at him and Edward smiled darkly, "_You_ never did?" Viktor's frame was starting to shake. I knew the warning signs. I could feel the heat rolling off his body. Dr. Perry stood and tried to hold his shoulder. Viktor pushed him away, knocking him into the wall. Edward moved to stand in front of me, taking a protective stance, "You will not touch her!" Viktor snarled. It was a guttural sound, "She's a direct descendent. You're just her creation! You'll be easier to kill!" My eyes widened and bared my teeth, "You will not touch _him_!" I moved from behind him and stood at Edward's side, "If you want me, here I am!" Edward tried to push me behind him again, but I wouldn't budge. Viktor's body convulsed, just like Jacob. "How was he able to change back? Werewolves stay in their wolf form." Viktor looked at us, "Centuries of gaining control."

He fell to all fours and there was a loud ripping sound. Standing in front of us was a gigantic, silver grey wolf. The wolf was stood on its hind legs and it was three feet taller than Edward. The wolf pulled its muzzle back, showing its razor sharp teeth. It snarled and swiped its huge claw at us. "Bella!" Edward whirled and blocked me from the attack. There was a high keening noise and Edward groaned. Edward turned back to the wolf, "My turn." He lunged at the large animal and I heard the sound of the impact of his fist. Moving quickly, I moved Dr. Perry from being trampled. He stood a few feet away from the fight of the mythical creatures. "What have you let into my house?" There was a loud crash and glass shattering, "Edward!" He landed on the balls of his feet near me and snarled through his teeth, "He's much stronger than I thought." He couldn't take his eyes off the wolf. He couldn't afford a loss in his focus, "Bella, run!" he ordered as he circled Viktor. I pushed Dr. Perry down, "You stay right there!" Viktor was focused on Edward and his back was to me. Taking this advantage, I tackled the wolf to the ground. Getting my arms around him and using my strength, I tightened my hold around him and several bones cracked and broke. The wolf howled in pain and tried to break my hold. Something warm followed down my arm; he was bleeding. One of his bones was protruding from his body. I threw the wolf's body through the back window into the trees. Looking back at Edward and Carlisle was standing by his side. The giant wolf groaned. Edward was suddenly holding my waist, looking out the broken window. The veins were on his face and his eyes were pitch black. I touched his face, "You need blood. You're drained." I almost forgot Dr. Perry was in the room. He was witness to the entire fray. "What are you doing?" Edward looked at me, but my eyes were fixed on Dr. Perry. I looked at him and he cowered, "Please don't hurt me. He said he just wanted to talk." My angry was growing. Edward did need blood. I pulled Dr. Perry up by the collar of his shirt, "And you believed him. Now, you can to make up for it." I looked at him. He let this monster into my house and it attacked my husband. "Edward needs blood," I spoke through my teeth, "fresh blood." I dragged him across the room, "You'll be perfect." "Bella," Carlisle tried to stop me, but nothing could. "This man almost got my husband killed."

Carlisle held my wrist, "Bella, don't." Ignoring him, I pressed my fingernail into the skin of his neck, letting blood flow out of it, "Edward." His eyes were wild, smelling the blood. He leaned closer and so did I. "Stop this!" This was an unfamiliar voice. Looking up, there was a tall man with dull red hair and the same pale blue eyes standing in the doorway. I recognized him from the book of legends I read. Darius.


	23. Darius

Chapter 23 – Darius

He came into the room and surveyed the scene. Sniffing at the air, he snarled, "Viktor again." He looked at me and Edward leaning over Dr. Perry, "The human's blood should be enough to satisfy you." Carlisle pulled Dr. Perry from our grasped, "Remember who you are." The both of us stared. There was a tinge of resentfulness within me. I wanted him to suffer. The veins around my eyes showed themselves, because I also wanted blood. "Father," a young woman with long golden hair and sapphire blue eyes came into the room. She was followed by a young man with similar blue eyes. The girl stood by Darius, with the young man on her other side. Looking at the girl, her hair was as bright as the sun. In contrast, the young man's hair was as black as the night sky. The girl looked at me, then her eyes fell on Edward, "Your husband need to control themselves a little better." I glared at the lovely Daywalker. Her hair draped down to her lower back. She reminded me of Rosalie. The acid in her voice, with the lovely, sweet face. The young man took her hand, "We have to find Viktor."

Darius looked at us, standing in the debris from the fight, "Bella, where is Viktor?" My eyes narrowed, "How do you know my name?" He smiled, "You are my descendent, my child. I have been watching you for some time." His eyes fell from my face, "Keep the human alive. He may be valuable." Looking at Dr. Perry, his eyes were fixed on me. He was terrified as his heart sprinted in his chest. His breathing was restricted; choking with fear. The call of his blood was a temptation. "Edward, how do you feel?" He brushed my cheek with the back of his hand, "I'm fine. Don't bother with him." Carlisle nodded, then looked at our visitors, "Thank you." Darius leered at Carlisle, "Bella, these nightwalkers your creations, are they not?" I looked back, "If you mean, that I changed them into Daywalkers, then yes." He glared at me, "Well, you need to get them under better control." I huffed. Was he for real? Before doing anything, I pulled

Dr. Perry to the couch and compelled him to be quiet and to not move. "You cannot be serious!" I asked through my teeth. Carlisle took my hand, in an attempt to calm me, "We _can_ handle ourselves. It was the wolf who lost control." Darius glared at Carlisle, "Because your son provoked him. We heard the whole thing. Your son knew what he was doing." Anger glinted in Carlisle's eyes, "Don't you talk about my son!" I have never seen Carlisle angry. He has always maintained a calm composure. "It seems that you have been tracking this wolf for some time. Why haven't you caught him yet?" Carlisle was getting angrier and I have never seen him like this, "And you said you were watching _my_ daughter, then you should have known he wanted her."

Edward wrapped his arm around my body, "Why are you here?" The young man behind Darius mimicked Edward. He held the young woman to his side. "Excuse me, Darien," I looked at him, "we were only trying to find out what he knew. He knew about my family and he was suspicious of Bella. You would have done the same for Serena." Darien's dark blue eyes fell on me, "Well, that's helpful. Viktor still cannot tell us apart from the humans. Darius, Serena and I will find the beast. Bella did do some damage. I think we can finally finish him off."

Darius looked back, "Good." The young couple turned to leave, but stopped, when they were facing Emmett and Jasper. The girl hissed, "What do you want?" Emmett glared, "We're going with you." Darien scoffed, "We don't need your help." A snarl escaped from Emmett's bared teeth, "That thing tried to kill my brother and was stalking my sister." Jasper glared, "You loss your claim on his life. Viktor is ours." Edward nodded, "He headed north." I clutched at his arm, "EJ!" Before anyone could stop us, Edward and I ran out of the front door, to the big house. "Who do they think they are?" Edward took my hand, "Don't worry about them right now." We burst through the front door to find Esme, Alice and Rosalie already on full alert. Nina, Madison, EJ and Emma were sitting on the couch. "Mommy!" I dropped to my knees as EJ flew into my arms. Edward sighed in relief, "Is everything alright?" Esme was holding Nina, "Yes. He hasn't come this way." Edward patted EJ's head, "Bella, stay here. I'm going to Viktor." I stood, "Edward, no!" I wasn't about to let Edward and his brothers, I knew they would not stay out of it, face this beast alone. "Bella, I was picking Darius' mind. The only reason Viktor was after you was because he wants to kill off Darius' descendants. Viktor is the same one from the legends. He is older than Aro. There are hardly any wolves that old and Viktor is one of them."

My eyes began tear, "He wants me. I won't let you do this. I'll find him." Edward brushed my hair, "This animal is _not_ getting my family." I looked at EJ, "Stay here. I'll be back soon." He hugged my neck and went to Alice. Edward tried to stop me, but I walked passed him. Stepping into the night, I was about to break into a sprint, but Edward grabbed my wrist. "Where do you think you're going? I asked you to stay here with our son?" I looked back, "After what we saw tonight. I got my hands on him and now, _I_ want to finish him off." I tried to turn away, but Edward wouldn't let me, "Bella, I'm supposed to protect you and EJ." From the day I met him, Edward has protected me, but now, he needs protection too. "Edward, I'm as strong as you are. It's your job to protect me and EJ and it's my job to protect you and EJ. I'm going with you so we can protect each other and our son." I kissed him quickly on the lips and he smiled. Taking my hand, Edward and I ran off together.

We hunted all night and we couldn't pick up his trail. "He's old, but smart." Emmett punched a tree and it fell, taking up its root, "Dammit!" Jasper stared off into the dark, "Here they come." Serena and Darien found us, "I have to admit," she smirked, "you're pretty fast. But you're right. Viktor's been around for a long time. He's learned to evade us." She sighed deeply, "Edward, stay out of my head." He blinked, "How do you know us?" She looked up at Darien. "That's her talent. She knows people and their extra abilities. That's the things about Darius' daughters. They're all talented. Serena created me, like Bella created you." His eyes fell on me, "But Bella, Darius will stop at nothing to have her." Edward pulled me into his chest and Emmett stood at my side. Serena smiled, "Don't worry, Edward. He won't take Bella away from you, just to have her on his side." She laughed once, "And I won't hurt my own sister." I scoffed, "We're not related." She smiled and stepped toward me, "Yes, we are. We're purebloods. True descendants. We _are_ the daughters of Darius. His blood runs in our veins. And, Bella, you're a shield." A what? Was that my talent? "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You have the ability to protect your mind and the minds of other from attacks. Edward can't hear your thoughts." That wasn't a question, but I nodded in confirmation. "And, I'm guessing, before he was turned, Jasper couldn't sense your emotions, either." I looked at him, "I didn't notice. All I picked up from everyone was happiness." I bit my lip, "Wait, the night I heard you and Carlisle talking, I was very nervous and tense. You didn't feel any of that?" He shook his head, "No. You were completely hidden." Serena sniffed, "See, you're a shield. And a damn strong one. When we face the Volturi, you will be a great use to us." I scoffed, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I am _not_ fighting the Volturi." Serena gawked at me, "You read the legends, you know the stories. Aro's time has come. After we finish with Viktor, we're gathering our family and going to Volterra." I shook my head, "It's your fight, not ours." I tugged at Edward's arm, "Let's go home. I have to send Dr. Perry home." Serena darted in front of me, "You coward. You should fight with your family." My eyes widened, "Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you are calling me a 'coward?' You expect me to participate in a fight that has nothing to do with me! A fight, until recently, I never knew about." "He killed our mother!" Taking in a deep breath, I glared at her, "My mother is alive and well. She's living her life happily, the way she deserves. I'm sorry about Cassandra, but I won't fight for that."

I walked away, taking Edward's hand. Emmett and Jasper walked silently with us. "Who do you think sent the wolves this time?" I stopped and looked back. Darien held Serena's waist, "Aro knows we still exist. Since all of us refuse to change him, he's making history repeat itself. Think about your son and your daughters." Emmett and Jasper looked at each other, then back to the duo. Darien sighed, "We have a daughter ourselves. We have to hide her until Viktor and his kind are gone. We're going to the ends of the earth to protect her. Wouldn't you do the same for your children?" Edward looked down at me, "And for our wives." I looked up, meeting his eyes. Sighing, Edward did something I didn't expect, "Come with us. We should talk with the others." Serena smiled, "Alright. Do you mind if Darius meets us there?" Emmett groaned, "Whatever, let's go."


	24. Old Friends

Chapter 24 – Old Friends

Edward and I went to my house to find that Dr. Perry hadn't moved an inch. "Bella, we'll talk to him later. We have to get back to the house." Nodding, I just compelled Dr. Perry to forget this night and be ready for when I would need to speak to him again. At the house, EJ clung to me for the rest of the night. "Where is your daughter?" Esme was concerned for their child. "She is with our coven. They move from place to place, so the wolves can't catch up with them. There's only three of them." Esme gasped in horror. She looked at Carlisle and he nodded, "Tell them to come here." Emmett and Rosalie gawked at them, but Esme glared back, "I'm thinking about their little girl." Rosalie sighed and she hugged Emma to her chest. Serena smiled, "Thank you. You don't have to do this." Esme was always a gracious hostess. She opened her home to all those who needed it. _She can be too kind sometimes. I think it's a bad idea having them here_. Looking at Edward, I nodded in agreement. Having Darius' children here was a very bad idea. He is going to try to recruit us to fight in his war. A war none of us want to be a part of. Serena was on the phone, chatting quickly, "Yes Amy. Bring her. We found another coven. There's eight of them and four children. No, only one pureblood." I scoffed at her term for me. Darien looked at me, "It's what you are." I looked at him with an exasperated expression. "You are a true descendant."

EJ tugged at the hem of my skirt. I opened my arms to him and he leapt into them. He pressed his palm to my neck, showing that he wanted to hunt. "Not now, sweetheart. It's not completely safe." His eyes widened and I scoffed, "That looks not going to work right now." He nuzzled his head into my neck and I almost crumbled, "Just like Edward." He chuckled as we went to our bedroom. EJ jumped on the bed, while Edward took my hand and had me sit in his lap while he sat in the armchair. "Serena truly sees herself as your sister." I looked down, "Please," I scoffed, "She's only a distant relative." Serena, Darien and Darius were talking with Carlisle in his office. I didn't like having them here. They were the first Daywalkers I've encountered and I wanted them to leave. Having them in the house was so uncomfortable. There were so many of us already, having them here could only draw more attention. The way Darius would look at me, you'd think I was a prize he was trying to win. A few days later, Serena's coven arrived with her daughter. There were three woman; Amy, Raye and Luna. All of them had dark hair, but Raye's hair fell down to her knees. In Luna's arms, was a small girl, no bigger than Emma. She had golden hair, but her face was similar to Darien's. She had large blue eyes and they beamed, "Momma!"

Serena opened her arms, "Lita!" Darien wrapped his arms around both of them and he kissed the small girl's forehead. Edward and I were on the couch, watching the family's embrace. He hugged my shoulder and EJ looked up from the book he was reading to me. Darius smiled, "Hello, little one." Lita jumped into his lap and nuzzled her head into his chest. Darius hugged the child, but his eyes fell on me again, only for a brief moment. Looking away, trying to push away my frustration, I decided to take EJ hunting. "Bella?" I shook my head, _We're going hunting. I'm tired of him staring at me_. It's been two weeks since Viktor got away, so I felt safe enough to go hunting on my own. Besides, I needed to get my frustration on something. I was tired and annoyed of Darius. He's asked me to go with him when he goes to Volterra. "No thank you. I am not leaving Edward and EJ." He patted my shoulder, "They are welcome to come with us." I look at his hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry, no."

Folding my arms and leaning on a tree, I thought about that encounter over and over. EJ was nearby, taking down a prey for himself. We were further west, deeper in the mountains, so he was really able to use all of his abilities. I heard his silent laughter as he finished off a stag. I took down one of my own, not interested in hunting big game. Even though I was glad to be out of the house, away from Darius' eyes, I hated being away from Edward. Feeling a tremor in my spine, I knew something was wrong. "EJ," I knew he was in trouble. I dashed off, pushing myself to find him. When reaching him, I picked up a foul scent. It was a werewolf. I found EJ half hidden behind the body of his prey, "Mommy!" I dashed into the open field and took him up in my arms. The wind shifted and I caught the scent again. Just as foul, but oddly familiar. I heard the beating of the large heart and the coming and going of its breath. There was a snarl and the breaking of dead twigs underneath its paws. Looking to the west, to the trees, I saw the glowing of the beast's eyes. The eyes were fixed on me. Even in the dark, I saw the sheer size of the wolf. It was a tall russet wolf and it was stepping out of the trees. Its body was as tall as me, and its muzzle was pulled back over its sharp teeth. My eyes widened and I took a defensive stance. The wolf snapped, lowering its head. I took a step toward it, pushing EJ behind me. He whimpered and hugged my leg. The wolf stepped closer and the moonlight broke out of the clouds. The wolf let out a low whimper, almost speculative and tilted its massive head to the side. Looking into its black eyes, they were more human than animal. "Jacob?" The wolf's eyes widened as he stared at me.

I stepped closer to him, but EJ tugged at my leg tighter, "No, Mommy!" I looked back and kneeled down, taking a huge risk. If this wasn't Jacob. The wolf could, and possibly, would charge me. I was faster than the wolf and I was stronger, but EJ would still be at risk. "Stay here. When I tell you to, you run to your dad." Leaving EJ, I walked over the wolf. Getting closer, his eyes followed me. Almost 3 feet from him, he inhaled his foul scent. "Jake?" Getting closer, he lowered his massive head and I patted by behind his ear, "Jacob." Despite the scent, I was happy to see him. I threw my arms around his neck. He gagged and I pulled my arms back, "Oops." He looked at me and, from knowing each other so well; I could almost hear his thoughts. "What am I doing here?" I guessed, then scoffed, "What are _you_ doing here?" His eyes fell on EJ and I followed his gaze, "That's my son." His head turned to look back at me so quickly. "Don't give me that look. His name is…" he wasn't going to be happy about this, "Edward." His mouth fell open, revealing the rows of sharp teeth, "Jr." He shook his head, in disbelief and snorted. "I know, Jake. But there's something I need to tell you." He sat on his haunches and he was a head taller than me, "I found the Cullens here and Edward and I got married. This is our son, biologically." I gestured for EJ to come, but he hesitated, "Sweetheart, its ok. He's a friend of mine."

EJ walked over to us at a slow pace. He scrutinized the wolf as he climbed up my back, half-hiding underneath my hair. Jacob sniffed at EJ and quietly snarled. "Jacob, he _is_ my son. Look, there are other things I need to tell you." He laid his massive head down on his front paws. Shaking my head, I sat on the ground, with EJ still hanging on to me. I told him about my change, what I really was and the history I learned behind it. I told him about the wedding, Renee knowing everything from the beginning and the recent attack from Viktor. He shook his head, suddenly stood up and ran into the trees. While he ran, I could hear the snapping of bones. He was phasing to his human self. Soon, Jacob, as a human, walked out of the trees. Jacob was almost a foot taller since the last time I saw him. "A Daywalker. We've never heard of those." I shrugged. Jacob looked down at me with the same dark eyes. "How come I couldn't tell?" "I don't know. You just couldn't." Having him standing before me, I realize how much I really missed my friend.

My arms were rising, preparing to hug him, but he stepped away from me, "I'm sorry, Bella. But this is too weird." Smiling, I showed how much I changed. Moving before he could blink, I wrapped my arms around his body and my ear was against my chest, listening to his quickened heartbeat. He gasped and his hands slammed down on my shoulders, ready to push me off. His body tensed in my arms and his breathing was very quick. Soon, he relaxed and his arms fell around me too. We were in each other's embrace for a long moment. "I can't believe I'm hugging a vampire." I heard his quiet laugh from inside his chest and I smiled. I did miss this. Jacob wasn't Edward. He could never be Edward, but he was someone very important to me. It was painful to cut him from my life, but in this moment, I felt whole again. For this brief moment, I had my best friend back. But would he let me back in his life completely? It was by his choice and his choice alone. Sitting in the field, we were Bella and Jacob again. No vampires or werewolves, just two friends. "Actually, that's part of the reason of why I came. Emily and Sam wanted you to know that they had a daughter." I smiled, "Really?" Jacob's dark eyes fell on EJ. He was resting his head on my chest, looking up at the sky. I followed his gaze, "Do you hate me?" He looked at me and all I saw the boy that was my friend. The boy that was reckless and stupid with me. "No. I'm happy you have a family, Bella." I could hear a note of envy in his voice.

He told me what was going on in Forks and La Push. Of course, there wasn't much. Jared and Paul imprinted. I laughed at that fact. Paul was going to be Jacob's brother in more than one way. "He imprinted on your sister. When's the wedding?" He snorted, like he always did before. Someone was coming up behind me and they were coming fast. I looked back and got to my feet in the blink of an eye, "What is it?" I looked at Jacob, "Someone's coming." He looked behind me, "I don't hear anything." I smiled; my hearing was stronger than his. "Wait, you'll pick it up." He tilted his head in the direction I was looking. It was silent for a long moment, at least in the field, "Oh, there it is." I smiled, "You poor boy, your senses are so dull." He scoffed, "Please, Bella, don't get cocky. To be honest, the only reason I can stand to be around you because you don't smell like a vampire. You still smell like you." A giggle escaped my lips, "Well, you smell awful to me." The runner was nearing the field and I picked up his scent, "Oh no, not him." Jacob's heart rate picked up, "What?" I stood, keeping EJ tight in my arms. I didn't want them free, because I knew I may do something rash. Jacob stood up beside me as Darius entered the field. He looked at me, then his eyes fell on Jacob. Behind Darius, Edward entered the field, most likely looking for me and EJ.

Darius wrinkled his nose in disgust. Jacob sneered, "This is your ancestor?" I nodded. Edward came to my side, "You were gone too long." He looked over my head, "Jacob? What are you doing here?" My arm wound around Edward, "He was looking for me." Darius stood away from us, almost circling, "What is he, your pet?" Jacob turned his eyes on Darius and a guttural snarl escaped his lips, "Watch it, old man!" Darius sneered, "Huh? A young one and inferior. He's nothing like Viktor. He's not even a werewolf." The heat vibrated off of Jacob's body, "What the hell are you talking about?" My arm clamped down on his wrist, restraining him. Edward looked at Darius, "A shape shifter? Interesting." Jacob and I looked at Edward as his read Darius' mind.


	25. Revelation

Chapter 25 – Revelation

"A shape shifter? What's the difference?" Jacob jerked his hand out of my hold, using some effort and folded his arms. "Viktor was only able to change back into his human form after centuries of practice and determination. Whereas, Jacob and his pack can elect to change whenever they wanted." Edward and Darius were staring at each other, "Darius, if you don't mind, we're going to go home. You may hunt, but give our home a large berth. We don't want to draw too much attention." Darius nodded and ran off. Jacob's eyes flowed after him, "Can I kill him?" I smacked his arm, "It's better to just leave him alone. His little family would cause too much hell." Nudging Jacob's arm, Edward and I prepared to run. Jacob ran back into the trees. After the snapping and resetting of bones, he came back in his wolf form. Jacob kneeled down on his front knees and whined. I giggled, "No, thanks. I'm a bit faster than you now." He stood up, eye to eye to me. He rolled his eye and sprinted ahead of me. Edward chuckled, "He really thinks he could out run you." This was going to be fun, "Let's prove him wrong."

Edward and I sprinted through the trees, passing Jacob in a few seconds. He huffed as he tried to push himself faster. Soon we were at my house. Jacob slowed to phase back. EJ leapt onto Edward's back as they went into the living room, while I went into the kitchen. I knew Jake would be hungry. Jacob came into the house, topless. I took out the ingredients for fried chicken. I started frying the chicken, when Jacob came into the kitchen. He wasn't comfortable being around Edward. Though his scent was like a human, Jacob still didn't like Edward for leaving me. Jacob was part of the search party that was looking for me the night Edward left. Edward groaned and I went into the living room, "What's wrong?" He shook his head, _Jacob's thinking about you the night Sam found you. Why didn't you ever tell me about that?_ I shook my head, _Not important_. Jacob looked around the corner, "Something wrong?" Making a face, I smacked him in the back of the head, "You know what you're doing, now stop it." He laughed, "Just testing. I wanted to see if it was really possible."

Setting a plate down hard on the table, I looked at him, "Knock it off, Jake." Edward came into the kitchen, "Jacob, there's something I want to say to you." Jacob looked at him, "What is it?" a note of petulance in his voice. Shaking his head, hearing the distain in Jacob's voice, Edward continued, "For keep Bella alive when I didn't." Jacob just stared at Edward in disbelief. I was even more surprised than Jacob. Why would Edward be apologizing? Looking into his mind, I saw his last memory of me as a human. My eyes turning red and my face crumbling from him telling me goodbye. "Trust me; I didn't do it for your benefit." Edward pursed his lips, "I know, but I'm still grateful. You kept her safe." I put the chicken on the plate on the table, "Ok, enough apologizing. I want to know what Darius was talking about. Why did he say Jake wasn't a werewolf?" EJ sat in my lap and took a piece of chicken. "Because he's right. Jacob _is_ more of a shape shifter." Jacob and I shared a glance. "What he means is Viktor and his kind are 'real' werewolves. A werewolf cannot help it when he changes and after a certain amount of time, they cannot change back." Jacob snorted, "So you're saying we're not considered real? We have taken on our fair share of vampires." Edward held up a hand, "_I_ would never say that. That's what Darius implied. It's just that, to Darius, the mere fact take you on the form of a wolf is coincidental."

I offered Jacob a room to stay the night. He literally ran across the country to come find me. Jacob was still uncomfortable with Edward, but he couldn't resist EJ. EJ probed him with questions about me. Jacob let it slip about the motorcycles and I froze. "Motorcycles?" Edward questioned. I gritted my teeth, "Did I forget to mention that?" Edward glared at me, "Yes, yes, you did." Jacob snickered, "Someone's in trouble." I pursed my lips, "Shut up, Jake. By the way, how was your birthday?" Jacob's eighteenth birthday recently passed. "Didn't do much. Billy's been sick." I gasped, "What's wrong?" The concerned was clear on Jacob's face, "I don't think he'll last much longer. Rebecca is trying to come home to see him too. He needs surgery." Jacob was too proud to admit it, but I knew the concern. He couldn't afford to pay for Billy's surgery. Jacob went to bed after talking about the last few months with Billy.

Esme and Carlisle came over, with Nina and Madison. "Emma is hitting it off with Lita. They're playing together." Esme explained, setting the girls down with EJ. Carlisle offered to go to La Push to see what he could do for Billy, only if the pack would allow him on the reservation. "You think it's wise to let the wolves know about us?" I bit my lip, "They're going to know soon enough. As soon as Jacob is close enough, they'll hear his thoughts and he will show them everything about this trip. As wolves, they hear each other's minds. They can't keep each other out even if they tried." Edward looked at me, "Well, Jacob won't let them do much. He still cares about you." Esme and Carlisle stayed for the rest of the night, entertaining the kids. Edward and I were in our bedroom. Alice had just finished furnishing it for us. In bed, Edward held me close and was quiet. This was comforting. Ignoring everyone in the house, I closed my eyes and we were back in Forks, in Charlie's house, staying quiet while Charlie was in his room. I was human again, listening to Edward's breath come and go as he held me close.

Soon, he tilted my head back to kiss me. His hand held the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair. He parted my lips and held my body tighter. _I can't lose her. Not again_. My arm twisted around his neck, giving into my desires for him. Even when we're both immortals, Edward still worried about me. Having an old adversary hunting our family would worry him. Holding him closer, I remembered my concern when the wolf clawed at him. I knew it wasn't going to hurt him, but still. I had just gotten Edward back. We had to find a way to stop Viktor. What if he had gone off to warn others of his kind? That he came across a large coven of Daywalkers? How many wolves would turn up at our doorstep? We couldn't let that happen.

Jacob offered to stick around a little longer, but I was trying to convince him to go home. If Viktor returned, he shouldn't be caught in this. "Bella, why is this Viktor trying to hurt you?" I smirked. Was he really missing the obvious? "Jake, Daywalker. You know, werewolf and vampire." He nodded, "Right." This made me feel better. Jacob still saw me as a human, as Bella. I think it has something to do with my scent, it was still human. "Viktor isn't going to be living much longer. 3000 years is a long enough life, don't you think?" Jacob looked at me and I saw my reflection in his eyes. My face was angry. It wasn't Bella, it was the face of a vampire. "Bells, he's a wolf. He could hurt you." I laughed out loud and he scowled. "Jacob, I hurt him. I got my arms around him and damaged a number of his bones. There are eight of us." He raised an eyebrow. "Darius doesn't count." A thought suddenly struck me. Thinking about the recent events, it felt like lightening struck my brain.

I was motionless as I thought about my theory. Both Darius and Viktor were 3000 years old. They have fought each other, but what if, after centuries of fighting, they became allies? Viktor and Darius had something in common; a common enemy, Aro. Viktor hated vampires. He thought being a werewolf was a curse and it was because of the evil vampires he sought to become one. Aro sent the wolves after Darius and his kind. Aro used the wolves. Viktor lost some of his children and Darius lost his mate. Aro was the link between these two immortals. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. "That's it," I whispered through unmoving lips. "What?" I looked up, "We have to find the others." Jacob phased, then we ran side by side. Everyone was hunting together, deep in the mountains. We came across their path and I pushed myself. I was impress that Jacob could keep up with me so easily. But I wasn't really trying to race him; we had to find the others.

The land started to incline and their scents were getting stronger. Soon, I saw Jasper and Madison, "Jaz!" He whirled, from the sound of panic in my voice, "What is it?" He must have sensed my tension, because his eyes fell on Jacob. "Where is everyone? We may have a big problem." Jasper eyed Jacob again, this time more speculatively. "Jaz, it's not Jacob." Edward and Emmett appeared behind Jasper. "What's going on?" Emmett bellowed. "I think we're being set-up." Edward took my hand, "What do you mean?" Sighing, I explained my theory.

"Don't you think it's a bit too coincidental that Darius shows up right after we deal with Viktor?" Edward's eyes were hidden in the shadow of her furrowed brow, "He was tracking him." I shook my head, "If you're tracking someone, knowing how dangerous they are, wouldn't you step in before any damage is done? Darius shows up right as Viktor leaves. And it has been weeks since Viktor left. He was injured severely, but by werewolf standards, he should have been completely healed by now." Jacob nodded in agreement. "And, even if he's biding his time, Viktor would have retaliated by now. He would want revenge." Edward glanced at Jacob, then back to me, "You believe Darius is using Viktor?" I shook my head, "To an extent. I think they're working together. I think the dinner was a test. A test of our fighting skills." Emmett stepped forward and the others were behind him, "Why would he do that?" EJ leapt onto my back and I kissed his small arm. "Viktor and Darius have a common enemy, Aro. So, the enemy of my enemy is my enemy or the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I believe they've formed an alliance and are trying to recruit us for their army. They want us to fight the Volturi with them."

Everyone became statues, all their eyes fixed on my face. Jacob huffed and stepped closer to me. "No, Jacob," Edward finally spoke, "that would be unwise. And this isn't your fight. We don't know how many followers they have." Edward was right. We don't know how outnumbered we were. But maybe someone else did. "Well, we could find out." Carlisle stepped forward, shadowed by Esme, "How?" "Dr. Perry."


	26. Enough

Chapter 26 – Enough

The school year was almost over and the professors were busy helping their students pass their classes. I knew were Dr. Perry lived. Carlisle, Edward and I were going to pay him a visit. Jasper was to stay out of the house, but he was to use his influence to keep everything calm. Alice assured us that she will monitor the entire conversation, to make sure all goes well and to watch for any intruders. Emmett and Jacob were on their guard, but kept a distance. We weren't sure if the wolves were watching Dr. Perry and they wanted to be close in case of a fight. Jacob felt weird fighting along side a vampire, but he wanted to know the truth as well. It was amazing that Jacob and Emmett were getting along the best.

It was just after 10 o'clock and most of the houses nearby were silent. From inside of the house, the sound of a pen scrawling was the loudest noise. Silently, the three of us entered the house. Moving quietly, we found Dr. Perry at the kitchen table. There was an empty chair in front of him. _Make a noise_, I signaled to Edward. Shifting his weight, the floorboard creaked loudly from the movement. Dr. Perry looked back to the apparent empty kitchen doorway. Before he looked back, I slipped into the chair. He finally looked back, saw me and jumped out of chair. He moved so quickly, the chair fell to the floor. "Hello Michael," there was no need to use titles. "Mrs. Cullen," he leapt up from his seat. "Sit down, there's no need to fear. I just want to talk." I could feel Jasper's influence, as a sense of calm coming over the room. Moving quickly, I picked the chair up and gestured to it, "Please, sit down."

Dr. Perry tried to back out of the room, as I was asking him to sit down. He backed into Edward and Carlisle. "Dr. Perry, all we want to do is talk. Really." I smiled, "Now sit down," I said with a tone of acid in my voice. With a shaking hand, he held the back of his chair and lowered into the seat. Sitting in front of him, I asked him questions about my recent theory. "Dr. Perry, where's Viktor?" His voice was shaking as he answered, "I don't know." "He's lying," Edward responded quickly. Dr. Perry looked back, "No, truly, I don't know where he is. He contacts me." Brushing the back of his hand with my fingers. Dr. Perry looked back at me and goosebumps rose on his skin from my touch. I could feel the blood pulsing just beneath the thin layer of his skin, "When was the last time he contacted you?" He looked down at my hand on his, "It's been a few weeks." His hand began to tremble as he pulled way from my touch, "Ever since the night at your house, he's been gone." I blinked once and looked at Carlisle, "Well, I need you to tell me everything you know about him." Dr. Perry's eyes narrowed, "Absolutely not. I could never betray him." Edward quietly scoffed, "You want to be one of his kind. You hate vampires that much that you sought Viktor to change you." Dr. Perry looked back and stood, "Yes. I despise vampires. I want to help Viktor finish his noble work."

I bit my lip, trying to fight my laughter, but a giggle still escaped, "His noble work." My laughter couldn't be controlled, "Are you serious? Dr. Perry," I held up one hand, "look, something is up and I want to know what it is." His heart rate increased, confirming my question. "Dr. Perry," he closed his eyes immediately. I smirked. Nodding to Edward and Carlisle, all of us remained still, holding our breaths until he opened his eyes. After a minute, Dr. Perry timidly opened his eyes and I caught him. "Are Viktor and Darius working together?" He looked at me, "Yes. They have been working together for almost 500 years." Edward and Carlisle moved to stand behind me and asked their own questions. "Why are they working together?" Dr. Perry sighed, "Because they want to increase their numbers. They want to destroy the Italian vampires that killed members of both their families. The one named Caius hunted Viktor and his kind until they were almost wiped out. That is why after all this is done, Viktor will change me. We would protect the new domain in Italy. Darius promised Viktor that he could take over Italy, keeping it free of vampires."

Dr. Perry continued, "Aro sent his humans to tell the wolves where Darius and his kind were. The wolves killed his wife when she was trying to protect their daughter, Melina." I almost broke my hold, "Melina?" Dr. Perry half-blinked, "His only daughter with Cassandra." Edward leaned closer, "Where is Melina?" "No one knows. It is said she betrayed Darius and left. He's been searching for her for centuries." Another thought struck me, "Why is Darius searching for all his descendents now?" "He wants to start an army, but I believe he is also searching for his daughter." Staring at him, the silence was broken from the ringing phone. "Edward," holding out my hand, he dropped the phone in my palm, "Answer it. But sound natural." He raised the phone to his ear, "Hello?" A thickly European accented voice was on the other line, "Michael." "Viktor, where have you been? I was getting concerned." There was a throaty chuckle, "Do not worry about me. Has the Cullens been causing problems?" He looked at me and I raised an eyebrow, "No. They have been keeping their distance."

There was a quiet chuckle on the phone, "Good. You have served us well. Getting us into the girl's house was very well. Her fighting style is rudimentary, but impressive. That whole clan will be useful in the fight." Moving my lips, I mouthed the words for him to ask, "Why would you allow the girl to do that to you? It's degrading." There was a snarl, "It is for the greater good. I preferred that none of my sons saw me in such disgrace. It is shameful enough that we are working with vampires, but they are a great use to me. When they hunted me and my kind, they killed my human family." I made Dr. Perry ask another question, "Is there anything else I can do for you? I want to help you avenge your family." There was a sigh, "You did very well. You have made us proud. The money has been put into your account. Until I call on you again." The phone line died. My body was frozen. I was right. They were working together and we were being recruited. I wonder if the others knew? Darius' followers. Would they be so loyal to him if they knew they were being used. What about Viktor's? Were they willing to work with their enemies. "Michael, what are they planning to make sure we join them?" He blinked, "Darius planned to live with your family. Learn your weaknesses and use them against you. He has done that several times. To gain his children's trust." I scoffed, "Pathetic," stating as I stood, ready to release my hold. "It worked on you." I froze as Edward and Carlisle stepped closer, "What are you talking about?"

Making my compel hold stronger, Dr. Perry told me the truth. "You said your father was murdered. He was murdered by a vampire. A vampire that was watching you for some time. He saw an opportunity for kill your father, leaving you alone in the world. You felt your father was in danger as the vampire was to make you feel that. He kept your father alive until you found them. He was to make you watch your father's death, bite you to start the change and leave. Darius said all of his children's blood smelled so sweet and irresistible to vampires. They smelled like that so that they would be bitten and changed. But, Darius was surprised to find you here and with so many others. That's why he's staying with all of you. He wants to learn more about you, to see which one of you is the weakest. He planned to get the weakest one alone and kill them. He would have said it was the wolves and all of you would have joined his ranks." Before the pain could crush me, I had to know, "Which one is the weakest in our family?" "Esme."

I stood, breaking my hold. Tears spilled from my eyes and my mouth hung open. Dr. Perry shook his head, "What's going on here?" Edward pulled me into his chest and Carlisle pushed Dr. Perry back into his chair, violently. "So, you hate vampires that much?" Suddenly, there was the sound of flesh tearing and Dr. Perry gagging. "You now have my blood in your body," Carlisle threatened, "You have 24 hours to disappear or I will change you myself. You will spend eternity loathing what you are if any of you come near my wife or my family." I looked and saw thew blood smeared across Dr. Perry's mouth and the tears welling in his eyes, while Carlisle clutched at his collar. Carlisle's eyes were fixed on Dr. Perry's face and they weren't Carlisle's caring and gentle eyes. They belonged to a vampire that wanted revenge. This Carlisle startled me. Carlisle pushed Dr. Perry away, making him fall on the floor, "Let's go." I pulled my face out of Edward's chest. My cheeks were stained with my tears, "Now, please." The three of us ran back to the house. Jasper joined us and soon we were passing Emmett and Jacob, who were soon following us.

Jacob slowed and remained outside of the house, but the rest of us ran straight inside. Alice stood, knowing what happened. She threw her arms around Carlisle's waist, trying to calm him. Before any of us spoke, Darius walked into the living room, laughing with Esme. Carlisle's eyes widened and he dashed across the room, taking Esme into his arms. "Carlisle, what's wrong?" He set Esme down by Emmett and took a defensive stance in front of her. Darius took in all of our faces, "Is something wrong?" My teeth were chattering and my eyes bored into his. "Get...out!"

My body began to tremble, "Get out now!" Serena and Darien came into the room with their coven. Darius feigned a smile, "Bella, dear, what's wrong?" A snarl was escaping my lips and Edward held my waist, restraining me. Tears spilled from my eyes and my body began to lean into a crouch. I was going to kill him. I was ready to rid the world of this immortal. Edward tightened his hold on my body, locking me in his embrace, "No, Bella." I fought against his hold, "You killed my father!" Darius stared at me, "Child, I've never…." "LIAR!" I cut off his words, "You knew! You knew it was just me and Charlie. You sent that vampire to kill him! You wanted to take away everything I had, so that I would join you." Esme gasped quietly. My rant continued, "That's why you're here! You're studying our family, trying to find ways to use us." Serena stared at me, her eyes blank and her lips were parted, taking in quick breaths. Darius' face burned red, "No, no, that's not true." I bared my teeth, "Is that why Melina left? Because she saw what kind of monster her father became?" He froze from that emotional blow. "How'd you know about her?" I smirked, "I'm right, aren't I?"

Darius dashed across the room to stare me in the face. Edward tried to pull me behind him, but I refused to be moved, "Where did you get this information?" Edward tried to shield me again, hiding me behind his body, "That's what you do. You know where all your children are. You destroy their human lives, to ensure they stay and follow you." Serena's breaths increased, "Did you do it?" she whispered. Everyone turned to look at her. Darien held her shoulders and tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Did you send that vampire? Like with Bella?" Darius was shaking his head, "No! How could you ask me that?" Serena and I stared at each other. Moving from behind Edward, I went over to her and took her hands. She was crying, "He was all I had. My little brother, Sammy." She opened a heart locket, showing a picture of a little blond boy, "My parents died in a car crash in Austin." Her voice broke, but she continued, "I was running late and trying to get home. When I got home, there was broken glass and blood all over the floor. I called to him, but he didn't answer. When I found him," she pinched her eyes shut and more tears spilled. "A vampire was feeding on him. He dropped Sammy's body and held my throat. I was screaming when he bit me. Then he just stopped. He left us there. Sammy was dead and I was changing. I tried to change him, but it was too late. I couldn't revive him."

The room was silent, but it was an uncomfortable silence. Listening to Serena's story, another, more sinister thought struck me, "You only look for the girls." I looked back at Darius and he was trying to slink away, out of the room. Rosalie and Emmett stood in his path. "Darien said all your daughters are talented. You don't care if sons are created, but the girls are more important." I glared at him, "You're no better than Aro. You search for your decedents, but keep only the talented ones. So that you could have the strongest fighters against the Volturi." Darius dropped his head, but his shoulders were jerking. Picking his head up slowly, we saw he was laughing, "Just like Melina, so perceptive. And like Melina, you are a powerful shield. You would have been my strongest fighter. Meeting you made me want to delay fighting the Volturi. You need to be trained, though. A shield and a mind reader for a husband. You could be leaders in the army. This coven is meant for greatness."

Dashing across the room, I clutched Darius at his throat, "Get out! You have done enough damage! Find your wolves and run! Run away and never return!" He smirked, "You can't hurt me. I _am_ your father!" My anger exploded as I threw his body across the floor. Standing above him, I got my arm wrapped around his throat. I was ready to pull his head from his body. Emmett and Jasper tried to stop me, but I was too determined. "Bella!" Only Edward's voice broke into my concentration, "This isn't who you are. Think of Charlie." I saw Charlie's face. He looked at me with disapproval, _This isn't you, love. Let him go_. I let Darius slip from my grasp and walked away. Getting him up, Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle ran with Darius, making sure he wouldn't return. Jacob phased and came into the house. He threw his arm over my shoulders, "You're better than me." I smiled and leaned my head on his chest. Edward kissed my forehead and EJ hugged my neck. This was one of the longest day and night of my life.

I learned that Darius intended to take everything from me and he was almost successful. If he had killed Esme, what was certain was that Carlisle would have mourned her for the rest of eternity. He wasn't the vengeful type, but the Carlisle I saw tonight questioned that. Soon, Jacob decided it was time for him to go home. He accepted Edward's gift of helping Billy, with one condition. "Just take care of her. She's still my best friend." Edward smiled, "I wouldn't have it any other way." Jacob kissed my cheek, "Bye Bells." "See you later, Jake." Since Darius' departure, Carlisle was much more attentive to Esme. He came so close to losing her and that would have been a fate worse than death, in Carlisle's eyes.

Serena and her coven remained with us for a few more weeks. She felt betrayed. She has followed Darius for decades. She created others to increase his numbers. She called him "Father." For years, he was her father. She only saw one consolation. She had Darien, Lita, Amy, Raye and Luna. Since Darius' departure, Serena and I did get closer. I had to admit, we were sisters, in some sense. Our families were taken from us and we were bonded in hate and in blood. Hate for Darius and blood from Darius. We had to face it, we were still linked to him. We were purebloods. "Bella, I'm so sorry." I nudged her shoulder, "I'm sorry too. But at least, we're not alone. We lost someone important to us, but we found more people that we could love. That makes up for the pain." She smiled, "You're right. Well, at least I can name this one Sammy." She rubbed her growing stomach, she was pregnant. I smiled, "At least stay until the baby's born." She shook her head, "No, we should go and build our own lives. But you better visit when he or she does arrive." I smiled, "I will. Alice will let me know before you do." She laughed, "Goodbye, Bella." "Goodbye, Serena"

Edward, EJ and I watched Serena and her coven leave. We weren't sure where they were going, but we knew that they were going to be happy. Serena and I shared the same remorse. Both of us were tricked, but I was not sucked in like she was. Serena created everyone in her coven and they followed her now. But one thing was for sure, we haven't seen the last of Darius. He was still out there and he would continue to increase his numbers for his war. A war, I fear, that none of us could avoid easily.


	27. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Edward, there's something I would like to do." We were laying in bed, in each other's embrace. There were no sounds in the house. EJ was with Emmett and Jasper. Edward's breath was tickling my nose and my lips formed a small smile. My eyes were closed, but I knew his were on my face. "I want to have a memorial for Charlie built." I opened my eyes as he held my face and pressed his lips to mine, "I think that's a wonderful idea." Since Darius' departure, Edward did all he could to make me happier. Esme helped me with the plans and arranged for us to travel back to Forks. "Mommy, can I go with you?" We were in my bedroom packing and he sat on the bed. EJ was now the size of a three year old. He batted his eyes at me and I crumbled. He didn't want to be away from us and I didn't want to be away from him. Since his birth, Edward and I have never been away from our son for more than a few hours. I patted his head, "Of course." Carlisle, Esme and Nina were coming with us, and EJ wanted to see my hometown. The others stayed behind to finish packing up the house. We were done with college and it was time for us to move on. We weren't limited anymore, so the debates began on where we should go next. Dr. Perry disappeared and none of us heard from Viktor again. Alice checked on Dr. Perry and he seized all contact with Viktor. He literally took the money and ran.

In Forks, the pain in my heart was too substantial for me to stay long. Esme and Carlisle wanted to go back to their house, but I couldn't stomach it. Since Charlie's death, a new hole was punched through me and it burn at the mention of the large house. I knew we would eventually move back there, but for now, I couldn't go to that meadow. Jacob graciously allowed us to stay at Charlie's house. Before leaving Forks for Ithaca, I signed the house over to Jacob, but he rarely used it. It was still painful, but at least in my old home, Charlie was still there, in some way. I could almost see him sitting in his chair, watching a game on television.

The ceremony for Charlie was held at the police station. Deputy Steve, now Sheriff Steve was more than happy to arrange the ceremony. A tree was planted in his name and a plaque was hung in the police station. Afterwards, I went to visit Billy. I passed over the treaty line, but I knew I was still on good standing with the Quileute wolves. With our help, Billy was doing much better. The surgery was a complete success and he was feeling much better. There were some differences about him. He cut his hair shorter and there were more wrinkles in his skin, but his eyes never changed. They still held some of the majesty, history and mystery that he was a part of. "You've been a vampire all this time and none of us never knew." I laughed, "So, would that break the treaty?" He chuckled deeply, "I don't think so. First, it referred only to the Cullens and you weren't a Cullen yet. Second, since we didn't know, the treaty is still intact. And as for this trip, Sam allowed it." I met Sam and Emily's daughter, Leanne and she was so beautiful. Sam was one of the proudest fathers I ever met, but he was a bit disgruntled. One of the pack members, Embry Call imprinted on Sam's little girl.

"Sam wasn't completely happy about that," Jacob explained. "He felt he just got Leanne and Embry was planning on taking her away. Things were a bit tense for a while. Sam refused to be in wolf form at the same time Embry was. He didn't want to hear Embry's thoughts when it came to Leanne. Soon, Emily warmed up to the idea and was happy her daughter would always be protected by two werewolves that loved her. She got Sam to turn around about the idea too." This was shocking. She was a baby and Embry was almost 18 years old. Jacob didn't envy him. "He could date if he wants to, but all he sees is her. For Leanne, Embry would be anything she needed, from a brother, to a best friend, to a protector." That was interesting. The wolves didn't age, so they could wait for the ones they imprinted on to grow up.

After the memorial service and visiting Charlie's grave, Edward, Carlisle and I had to make one more visit. The three of us traveled to Port Angeles Community College. It was late in the evening and the campus was practically empty. We went to the literature department and found Prof. McCallister in his office. Opening the door quietly, I stepped into the room, "Prof. McCallister?" He looked up and gasped, "Ms. Swan." I smiled, "Hello." His heart sprinted as he saw me. "Come in. How was Cornell?" I smiled, "Wonderful. I really enjoyed my years there. I was just visiting home and I wanted to come by to thank you." He blinked, "For what?" "For all the information you gave me. It helped me discover what I really am." His brow furrowed, "What information are you talking about?" I giggled, "You wouldn't remember. You were sort of under my spell. Anyway, I also wanted you to meet my husband." Edward entered the room, silently, "Hello." Prof. McCallister smiled, "Congratulations, but, Ms. Swan….?" "Mrs. Cullen" I interjected. "Mrs. Cullen, I'm still confused. What spell are you talking about?" Edward chuckled, "Maybe my father could help you with that." Carlisle entered the room and Prof. McCallister's heart froze in his chest. It stopped for a brief moment, then restarted, "You?" Carlisle nodded, "I am Carlisle Cullen." Prof. McCallister's eyes bugged, "That's impossible. You cannot be… can you?" Carlisle smiled at me, "Bella?"

"Prof., I am, we are what you searched for. We're Daywalkers. I am a direct descendant of Darius." Prof. McCallister backed against the wall, "All of you?" I nodded, "I changed them. When you mentioned Daywalkers, I compelled you to tell me everything you knew. That's what I meant by 'under my spell.' That's why I went to Cornell. I found out everything and other things that weren't written." Prof. McCallister clutched at his chest in shock. He was taking deep breaths, to calm himself before he spoke again. "After all these years, one just walks into my classroom." Edward chuckled, "You helped her a great deal." Carlisle stepped closer to the professor, "And with your help, she found us again." His eyes narrowed, "Bella knew you?" Carlisle nodded and held my hand, "She turned my son's life around. She became a daughter to me, but we had to leave her. It was becoming too dangerous for her to be around as, while she was human. But when she changed and spoke to you, she came out East and, inadvertently, found us. Our family was happier, once Bella was with us again." I blushed at Carlisle's words. Edward brushed my cheek, admiring the color.

"I hope you can forgive me for compelling you. That was a conversation best forgotten. But here, I brought you something to make up for it." I opened my bag and took out several books. One was the ancient tattered book holding the legends, the other was its English translated companion and the last was written by me, writing out the rest of the histories we learned. "Dr. Perry resigned from Cornell and we bought the first two from the school. The last is what we found out ourselves." Prof. McCallister opened the English translation, "Thank you." I smiled and walked around the desk, "Prof., if you're still interested in becoming a Daywalker, I could…?" I smiled, showing my sharp teeth. He backed away, holding the book to his chest like a shield, "No, I'm too old to live forever." I laughed once, "Well, if you ever change your mind…." My eyes got softer as I showed my veins, "Goodbye Professor." The three of us departed from the school, leaving the one human that knew about our existence forever. Edward took my hand as we followed Carlisle. Esme, Nina and EJ joined us as we left. We walked in the night, beginning to live out our forever.

* * *

I watched as my children walked away from the building. Bella reminded me so much of my precious Melina. I vowed to myself that will find my daughter again. They left the human with the information he craved. I walked into the building, following their trail to his office. The ruffling of paper and a steady heartbeat came from the room. I opened the door and saw the distinguished gentleman, "Hello Brandon." He looked up at me and his heart raced. Another addition to my family.

TO BE CONTINUED...


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